Ash Ketchum, Pokemon Master
by ZaneT69
Summary: Harry Potter, reborn as Ash Ketchum, is a person with ambition... the ambition to be the very best like no one ever was. To be a Pokemon Master, the strongest, the most skilled, the most respected, and to actually have a happy life for once. But will he succeed? Will he fail? Or in the end, will that even be what he truly wanted?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: An ignoble end and a humble new beginning.**

**Earth, year 2200.**

The end is nigh... so many have said that, but Hadrian 'Harry' Potter was witnessing it.

Harry hadn't had an easy life... His parents were murdered and he was sent to live with his vile aunt and uncle where he was malnourished, physically and psychologically abused, used as a mistreated servant, and forced to dumb himself down to below his idiotic cousins grades. Harry was lucky to still secretly grow his intelligence and prepare for his future.

It was at age eleven that Harry thought he was free of them... he was told that he was a wizard. Harry was thrilled beyond words and threw himself into his studies and new (or is it old?) culture. Harry was sorted into Ravenclaw and he focused on his studies and self-improvement... and then he learned that his parents murderer still went free when he went to protect a Philosopher's Stone.

After surviving that Harry stepped up his studies... He studied hard and he hired tutors and tested out of Potions, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts and even pursued a Mastery in them despite the objections of Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Despite the massive work load, harassment from idiots who believed that he was the Heir of Slytherin and petrifying students, and the escape of Sirius Black and public revelation of his innocence Harry had achieved his three masteries. Life seemed to be getting better for Harry.

And then his fourth year happened.

Bartemius 'Barty' Crouch Jr. put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, and the school turned against him once more. Harry won the damn thing to spite them all and then called them all fickle and unworthy of being saved from Voldemort.

After discovering Tom's horcruxes, Harry did just that and even took the Deathly Hallows for himself in the process, defeating Tom in an hour long duel and then leading the purge of his powerbase.

When it was all said and done and everyone wanted to grovel and praise him and girls tried seducing him, he said 'fuck you' to everyone and went and did whatever he wanted. Getting anywhere near his stalker Ginny Weasley wasn't one of them, and that's for damn sure.

Harry completed his education and then traveled to learn magic and enjoy life some... but even that was lessened by foreign followers of Voldemort trying to kill him and getting slaughtered. The only person that they managed to kill was Harry's godfather Sirius and oh boy did they suffer for it. Harry killed their children, who also tried killing him, and made them all watch.

After that, Harry mostly slept around, performed his political duties, and continued learning at muggle university.

It was when Harry _finally _had another chance at happiness, by marrying someone that he _actually loved_, and discovering that Ginny Weasley killed her that Harry just gave up on being happy. He still tortured Ginny Weasley to death; lasting for months as punishment. Arranging for Ronald, Percival, and Molly Weasley to all die slowly for their involvement was a bonus... a bonus that did nothing to heal him. They wanted access to the Potter and Black wealth... they died for their greed. Oh people _tried _pinning it on him, but Harry was extremely careful and got away with the murders.

Life hadn't improved afterward, most believed him Dark for getting real justice and Harry didn't care. They were all sheep and if he wanted their opinions then he would give them new ones to spout.

So it was in the year 2200, as Earth and humanities death at the metaphorical hands of a supernova that Harry finally smiled due to true happiness. Harry should soon be reunited with his parents, godfather, and his beloved Daphne... the only girl that he had ever loved. Harry was saddened by humanities death, but at this point it was a mercy killing... oh people _tried _to better the world, but they mostly failed and if they actually succeeded then it was undone less than a generation later by a silver tongued con man who desired political power.

As the supernova drew near, Harry only had one thing to say in regards to Earth and humanity.

"Good riddance... we shall stain this amazing universe no longer. We shall not spread our diseases, failed political and religious ideologies, our carelessness, stupidity, and ignorance to anywhere else. Goodbye..." Harry muttered as himself, humanity, and Earth were all consumed and erased.

And then, of course, he _did not _rejoin his family and was instead brought before Death... the creator of the Deathly Hallows.

"Why do I have a feeling that I won't be seeing my family or Daphne any time soon?" Harry asked, looking at Death.

"I told you that you were an Absolute Immortal... and I meant absolute. Your body was destroyed, yes, but your spirit and power were not and those are the important things. Your time in that universe is done, but there is another that you can save." That last sentence got a snort of derision. "This world can actually be saved and has much wiser management... and beings who protect it called Pokémon. You cannot truly die, Hadrian, and being reborn is your only real option."

"What would I have to do there?" Harry asked.

"What you did to the Death Eaters and their ilk... send evil souls to me. There will be an increase in evil in that world soon and it must be opposed... billions of possible deaths, the extinction of entire species, and an evil team ruling the world. There are others that will need cleansing, but we cannot lose them all. This world needs a Chosen One and you are the best person for the job." Harry remained silent as a negotiation tactic, which Death was well-aware of and annoyed by, but Death couldn't _force _Harry. The Deathly Hallows were a portion of Death's own power and Death could not reap Harry or send him away without the agreement of both portions holders. If Harry grew his power a billion-fold then he would actually be Death's equal.

"You can loot your enemies bases, accounts, and bodies with impunity... making billions and getting more Pokemon." Nothing. "You'll be able to multiply your power even further by repeating rituals and can keep the effects of your previous rituals." Harry looked somewhat interested. "You'll have a loving mother and you will excell and actually be happy in this world. I can't resurrect your loved ones in this world; certainly not without Fates support, and even then it would be near impossible."

"You can also have a harem if you want one," Death offered.

"Sold!" Harry agreed. Learning and sleeping around were favorite past times of Harry's.

"Good. You will be reborn as Ash Ketchum and will keep the Deathly Hallows merged with your soul. You can still use the Resurrection Stone to gain teachers and you will learn some names for that very reason." Harry nodded. "You will be able to leave home at age ten and begin as a Pokemon Trainer, but you'll need to earn the license. You'll also be able to manipulate Aura, and will be a Psychic, with powers far more potent than most due to having extensively studied the field in your previous life and your being a Water, Fire, and Storm elemental, and an Occlumens and Legilimens."

"What of my father in this new world?"

"He's an above average trainer who is somewhat ashamed of his failure, but he refuses to admit failure and return home. You're better off without him, he's an idiotic brute, and he is obsessed with battling a single Pokemon." Death replied.

Harry nodded.

"As for Team Rocket, they use guns and if you bring Pokemon into battle some will be shot and killed. You, however, are extremely durable and can regenerate at absurd speeds and cannot actually die... Had you refused to be reborn into another world then I would have been forced to allow you to regenerate on what's left of Earth. Just a warning, Hadrian. You'll also find some Pokemon before age ten, but can keep them on an island created for you until you're old enough and have Poke Balls to catch them."

"Now, before you are reborn," Death began. "You will have your full considerable powers." Harry was visibly shocked by that. "We want Team Rocket purged from this world so that others can be purged by people from it... as such denying you access to your full power would be pure stupidity and very counter-productive. Have fun in your new world!"

With that, Harry's spirit vanished from Limbo and was placed into the body of the unborn Ash Ketchum.

* * *

When Harry was reborn as Ash Ketchum, it was the best day of Delia and Silver Ketchum's lives, but soon after Ash turned one years old his father decided to continue his journey... Ash never forgave him and his father never returned... not even to visit. His father never even called.

As Ash grew up he would get exceptional grades and would prove to be highly intelligent and would skip grades. By the time he was ten he would be educated better than most adults.

As soon as Ash could walk he began summoning the shades of Psychic's and Aura Users to learn from in his spare time, which wasn't abundant since he still he needed four hours of sleep. Ash was committed to mastering his powers entirely.

At age five, Harry took up fishing and was going to begin secretly catching some Pokemon... How was he going to catch Pokemon without any Poke Balls? Ash had offered to lead trainers to areas with certain Pokemon in exchange for Poke Balls and money, and it was extremely profitable for him. He had three Poke Balls and 400 Poke dollars.

Ash had so far caught a bunch of weak Magikarp, all below the level of ten, and Ash wanted one that was level fifteen or higher and knew Tackle. The problem was that Ash had been at this for _two whole days_. It was annoying, but it would be worth it and Ash needed something to occupy his time... he would have his schooling completed by age six at his current rate of learning and all while still holding himself back. Ash had already asked to learn from Professor Oak after he was done, well, until he left on his journey anyway.

Overall Ash, formerly Harry, was enjoying this new world.

His skill in controlling and detecting Aura had grown greatly and Ash could unleash spheres of Aura and form shields and blades made of it, but his skill consisted of far more and those were just his favorites.

It was his psychic abilities that grew the most though, Ash picked those up much faster due to previous experience. Ash could move several tons, fly, manipulate elements, read and control minds, could sense emotions, and he was highly precise with telekinesis.

Ash was also enjoying having a loving mother and Ash had vowed to help her financially when he started out as a trainer. His father didn't even send her money. His mother made money by running a restaurant and renting rooms. She didn't complain, she wasn't resentful, and she still loved Ash unconditionally... she even still loved her husband. She was a better person than Ash... his past life had changed him. Was it for the better or the worst though?

Suddenly, Ash had got a bite and began reeling in his catch...

Imagine his surprise when it was another Magikarp... not only that, but a shiny Magikarp and it was larger than normal Magikarp.

"Hello, Magikarp," Ash said with a smile. "If you let me catch you then I'll make you stronger than any other Gyarados in the world!" It seemed to be Ash's lucky day, Magikarp was agreeable and was quickly caught in a Poke Ball.

After having it demonstrate its moves, Ash learned that it knew Tackle and was therefore, at minimum, level 15.

Ash had his Magikarp start his training by improving his swimming ability and by battling weaker Horsea, Poliwag, and Staryu. It took months, but Magikarp evolved into Gyarados... soon after Ash completed his education. Gyarados kept its pre-evolved forms superior size and measured out at nearly 30 feet, and it would only continue growing for several more decades.

* * *

At age six, and with his mothers blessing, Ash approached Professor Samuel Oak... His goal? To learn from him. Ash had already studied extensively, of course, but he wanted to take it to the next level and also be a Professor in his spare time as an adult. Ash had already selected a few areas of expertise that had caught his interest.

Ash knocked on Professor Oak's door and waited...

It took a minute, but the Professor opened the door.

"Hello, Ash, my boy," Oak said kindly.

"Hello, Professor," Ash returned politely. "I was wondering if I could learn from you until I start my journey? I'll help you as much as I can. I take great notes, I have a perfect memory, and I've memorized a lot of useful information on Pokemon already." Ash was trying hard to convince the Professor to agree. That useful information was picked up from the shades of deceased great trainers; including champions, Elite Four, Gym Leaders, Psychic's, and Aura Guardians. Ash was also a Move Tutor.

"Ash, of course I'll let you learn from me! I used to teach your mother and she was very intelligent and hard-working! If you work even half as hard as your mother then you will be exceptional." Oak replied. "You are also allowed to use Pokemon under supervision here... like that shiny Magikarp that you somehow caught."

"Um... well. I caught it with a Poke Ball that I was given for showing a trainer where some Pokemon could be found in Pallet Town. It recently evolved into a Gyarados and I'm hoping that its training will speed up." Harry said, and Oak nodded in understanding.

"I'll help you train your Gyarados, Ash, and any other Pokemon that you catch... When can you start?"

"Immediately!" Ash replied.

"Okay, Ash," Oak replied, gesturing Ash inside. "I have files that I need you to put into numerical order for me... files on Pokemon, their abilities, movesets, and moves they are known to learn. You're a fast reader so you can feel free to read them while working." Ash nodded, excited about the opportunity. "I need this task completed within four days, but you are free to take breaks when you need them or to eat meals." Ash nodded again and got started.

With Ash's Occlumency, natural fast reading ability, and genius level intellect it only took him a few hours to complete the task and then too check his own work.

"Impressive Ash," Oak said, inspecting his work. It was all perfectly done.

Ash's next assignment was feeding the less dangerous Pokemon, but while he was doing that his Gyarados was learning Flamethrower from Professor Oak's Charizard.

Ash continued working for Professor Oak, gaining access to his massive library, completing tasks for him, and even getting a chance to help him on the Pokedex some... Ash did so well on the latter project that the Professor allowed him to contribute even more. Ash inputted the data of a large part of the Sinnoh Pokedex and even helped on the Unova and Kalos Pokedex's.

At age eight, Ash was allowed to assist Professor Oak on one of his hobby projects... about the evolution of Slowpoke into Slowbro. He had been working on it in his spare time, but he had more recently due to Ash's help.

Ash had offered to catch more Slowpoke and Shellder for more possible Slowbro test subjects and greater data for analysis and more comparisons between possible different cases... Oak agreed. They were both working blindly and needed to cover all of their bases.

Several Shellder and Slowpoke agreed without coercion, but a few attacked him and were caught... Ash's Gyarados knowing Thunderbolt was very helpful for his mission. Ash had even befriended and caught himself a Staryu and Seadra!

It was the actual experiments that bored Ash.

"Shellder... he's just wagging his tail in your face. Are you going to take that taunting?" Ash asked, amusing Oak. "You should bite it..." That was Ash's attempt number five.

"Shellder, if you bite Slowpoke's tail then you should become one and evolve... You'll both become more powerful and be able to combat stronger predators. Both of you will benefit greatly!" Attempt number two and nothing. "Will you both at least try?" Ash asked petulantly. "You might evolve and become stronger."

Shellder obeyed and though it took a little time, Slowpoke evolved into Slowbro.

"Well done, Ash! And well done Slowbro!" Oak said excitedly. "You just solved a great mystery in less than ten minutes! It apparently is that simple!" The two united due to a need to become stronger. Oak began dancing around and was planning to brag about how _his student _beat Professor Westwood to discovering how Slowpoke evolved.

"Let's solve the evolution of Slowking too," Ash suggested, catching Professor Oak's interest. "What happens when a Shellder bites a Slowpoke's head?"

"Nothing, Ash, that is why so many are confused by it," Oak replied.

"Then it must need a catalyst from an item, ability, move, or level... Do you have a King's Rock? It shares a word in common with Slowking and looks kinda like a crown, and might be the catalyst." Oak suddenly felt stupid for not making that simple connection, but chalked it up to Ash being a child and thinking differently. "I'll go get it!"

When the Professor returned, Ash wasted no time in putting it on Slowpoke's head, confusing it. Ash brought in a wild Shellder and it seemed to be overcome with an urge to bite Slowpoke's head... The evolution started faster this time and Slowpoke evolved into Slowking.

"We need to further document this!" Oak said.

* * *

Both Professor Oak and Ash were honored by the Pokemon Symposium, with Ash even being promoted to a Research Assistant by Professor Oak... once Ash started his journey he would have access to restricted areas, could carry up to twelve Pokemon, and could recommend that trainers have their licenses revoked with reasonable cause.

But after that brief fifteen minutes of fame, and Ash was glad that it faded, he focused on his duties and on training the Pokemon that he caught.

His Seadra was leveled up to 60 and then evolved into Kingdra, with Professor Oak providing the Dragon Scale just to see the evolution.

Shellder was leveled up to 61 and Ash would purchase a Water Stone when he could.

Staryu and Gyarados were both leveled up to 60, but Ash would need another Water Stone to evolve Staryu.

Ash could probably use these Pokemon to easily defeat beginner trainers when he started his journey... but he wouldn't do that. Ash was bringing his Gyarados with him on his journey as a precaution, but he and his new Pokemon all wanted to grow much stronger without relying upon his older Pokemon. This decision was praised by his mentor, Professor Oak, and by Ash's mother, Delia. Ash placated himself by reminding himself that he had been training very slowly and in his spare time, and that during his actual journey he would produce stronger Pokemon much faster.

Ash had nearly mastered his Psychic and Aura abilities and should have both fully mastered by age twelve.

It was the tests for his Trainer License that recently occupied most of Ash's time though...

The written and theoretical was extremely easy with Ash's perfect memory and only took hours to complete, but the practical was very time consuming.

Ash had to demonstrate proper first aid for Pokemon and then subscribe the correct regimen for them to fully recover. Ash also demonstrated correct human first aid to prove that he could survive alone, which was very easy due to him studying medicine in his past life. Ash excelled at first aid and the instructor felt that he could keep himself and his Pokemon alive for months without a Pokemon Center or hospital.

Ash had to choose the correct food for his assigned Pokemon... he created several personal blends and brought them with him to the test, which was thankfully allowed if the prospective trainer recorded them self making the food. Ash passed with flying colors.

The rules and laws regarding Pokemon and battles were memorized and Ash passed that portion of the test with great ease.

The survival training was passed with Ash having the highest marks in the class.

Ash wasn't surprised when he passed, as arrogant as that sounded, but he _was _surprised that his scores were among the best in history. He did have years of prep, but it was still quite surprising to him.

Now Ash only had months until April 1st, when trainers were allowed to begin their journey... the April first after a trainer turned ten. Ash was excited, he missed the freedom of his past life and was looking forward to more adventure.

Now, to wait...


	2. Chapter 2

**Review Responses:**

**frankieu: **Well I hope you keep enjoying my story.

**Yaw613:** Thank you and I'm glad too have you for yet another story.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** First of all, awesome name. Yeah this is my take on an Ash Ketchum that really wants to be a Pokemon Master.

**Avenger13579: **Thanks. It took me a while to get here though. I started the idea as "Hadrian Potter, Pokemon Master," but it didn't fit he was reborn as Giovanni's kid and then as "Hadrian Ketchum, Pokemon Master," but the stakes weren't high enough so I made Harry Ash and crapped the older stories and used pieces of them for this one.

**Chocoholic202:** Don't worry, I generally update everyday since my stories are pre-written and completed. Its the only way that I can complete a work without getting bored/distracted.

* * *

Ash had an amazing and productive life this time around... Ash had worked intensely in preparation for getting his official starter Pokemon. Ash had gotten some of the best scores in history on his test to get his Pokemon Trainers License, much to Gary Oak's jealousy and his grandfather Professor Oak's respect. Ash had immense knowledge of Pokemon training, was a Move Tutor, Psychic; due to his past life, and had the ability to manipulate Aura from his current one. The only problem was that Ash had overslept.

"So you finally decided to show up after all," Professor Oak said with mild disappointment in Ash.

"I couldn't get to sleep, but when I did it was a deep sleep... I had a dream where I defeated Ho-Oh, and the Poke Ball I used to capture it was my Poke Ball shaped alarm clock." Ash said regretfully. "Are there any Pokemon left? Any at all? Or will I need to just use my Gyarados?"

"Well, there is still one left, but I -"

"Professor I'll take it!" Ash said desperately.

"I think I should warn you - There is a problem with this last one."

"If it has behavioral issues then I'll just have to train it to overcome them," Ash replied.

"Well, in that case..." Oak let a Pikachu out of its ball.

"A healthy specimen of Pikachu..." Ash said in observation. "Young and at its cutest stage. I don't see any problems, Professor." Pikachu looked pleased with the praise being directed at it.

"You'll see." Oak said.

"Hello, Pikachu," Ash said politely. Pikachu began mustering up a Thundershock. "No." Ash said firmly, tapping Pikachu on its nose and demonstrating his dominance. "You don't use violence without cause. Only those of lesser intellect or the insecure seeking to look or feel strong do that. If you are either of those two things, then carry on, but if you want to grow stronger then you can come with me. You won't regret it." Ash held out his hand while Pikachu glared at him.

"Pika," Pikachu finally said, taking Ash's hand and then climbing up onto his shoulder.

A very impressed Professor Oak handed Ash his Poke Balls and Pokedex, and Ash left on his journey.

"Oh, Ash I'm so proud of you. You're finally gonna fulfill your dream and it starts with your Pokémon training. But I'm - I'm gonna miss you so much. Oh, my little boy." Ash's mother, Delia, said.

"I packed your sneakers and jeans, nice clean shirts and underwear, and your favorite snacks and some hot chocolate in case you want something hot. But be careful not to burn yourself. And a pair of rubber gloves to do your laundry, and a new clothesline to hang it out to dry -"

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Ash said, but he really did appreciate it. Ash's mother was a great person and an amazing mother, he felt truly blessed to have her in his life.

"I understand. Hmm? That's your Pokémon?" Delia asked.

"Yup, a Pikachu," Ash replied.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said.

"I thought all Pokémon stayed inside their Pokéballs. Why doesn't this one?" Delia asked.

"I think he dislikes being confined; he showed signs of discomfort when first let out, so I didn't try putting him back inside it. Plus we need to bond some too." Ash replied, to Professor Oak's approval.

It was with a time disadvantage that Ash left Pallet Town on his journey.

* * *

Ash had screwed up pretty badly... and he didn't have even one of the Kanto starters. That meant that he was forced to catch Pokemon to trade, which meant Pallet Town forest. Ash needed a Pidgey, but would capture any desirable Pokemon to trade or keep.

Ash eventually saw a Pidgey and sent Pikachu out against a lone Pidgey. "Use Thundershock!" Pikachu obeyed and inflicted major damage on Pidgey, who retaliated with Gust and knocked Pikachu down. "Use Thundershock!" Ash ordered once more. The Pidgey was knocked down, so Ash ordered Pikachu to use Quick Attack and then follow it up with a close-range Thundershock. Pidgey was knocked out, so Ash quickly caught it.

"Great work, Pikachu," Ash said, withdrawing a healing Potion and spraying Pikachu's injuries. Ash and Pikachu set out towards a nearby lake, hoping to find some water Pokemon for the Pewter City gym battle.

It went well, until Ash accidentally knocked a rock into a bush and hit a Spearow. That was no big deal, when it attacked with Aerial Ace, Ash sent out his Gyarados and it was quickly beaten with Thunderbolt and then caught.

Unfortunately, it screeched to call its entire flock.

"Ah, hell," Ash commented in annoyance. "Gyarados, use Thunderbolt!"

Gyarados unleashed his Thunderbolt with a mighty roar, easily defeating the weaker Spearow. The next one defeated the rest.

"Stay alert, you two. Pikachu, meet my first Pokemon. Gyarados meet the starter Professor Oak gave me." Ash said and they greeted each other. Ash ended up catching some pretty powerful Pokemon, one of which was a level 45 Fearow and several other decent Spearow. "I'll need you soon Gyarados, but for now you can return."

"Let's go, Pikachu. There are some troublesome Gyarados in a nearby lake and sometimes they attack new trainers or fishers." Ash said, to Pikachu's fear and concern. "Don't worry, you aren't ready for that yet. I'll let Gyarados defeat them, but I do want you to watch."

When they arrived at the lake, Ash sent out _his _Gyarados and sent it to locate the other Gyarados and lure them to him...

Five minutes later and two defeated Gyarados surfaced with swirls in their eyes and Ash's red Gyarados surfaced soon after and let loose a roar of triumph, much to Ash's amusement. Ash quickly captured the two defeated Gyarados.

"Great work, Gyarados!" Ash said with a smile. "I'm gonna return you and then teleport to Viridian City. I need to put these up for trade on International Trade, but we should soon have some new Pokemon to befriend and train." Gyarados agreed and was returned.

A few seconds later and Ash and Pikachu were in Viridian City... Ash wasted no time in giving his Pokemon to Nurse Joy for healing and then using one of the computers, accessing International Trade and typing in his recent captures...

**For trade: level 45 Fearow, level 15 Spearow x4, level 18 Spearow x2, level 30 Gyarados x1, and level 42 Gyarados x1.**

After that, Ash listed their known moves before typing up his want list.

**Want list: Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle; under level 10, Dratini; any level, Onix; any level, Abra, Kadabra, or Alakazam, Haunter/Gengar, Elekid, Magby, Larvitar, and Houndour.**

"Your Pikachu and Gyarados are both fully healed, but the others will require more time," Nurse Joy said, delivering Pikachu and Gyarados' Poke Ball to him. "May I ask why you captured so many of the same Pokemon?"

"They were terrorizing Pallet Town's forest and had injured several new trainers. I decided to defeat and catch them to stop all of that. I'll be providing them with homes, of course, but they had to be stopped." Ash replied, pleasing Nurse Joy with his answer.

"They should all be ready by tomorrow morning," Nurse Joy said.

Once she was gone, Ash noticed a Poke Ball being dropped through the roof of the Pokemon Center, which soon released an Ekans and Koffing... once Koffing used Smokescreen, Ash banished it and then flung both Pokemon into a wall with telekinesis and had Pikachu use Thunder Wave for good measure.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

Ash's thoughts throughout that entire lame motto? Why are they continuing, their Pokemon were just beaten? When will they shut up? And... Ooh! A talking Meowth!

"A talking Meowth!" Ash said in awe. "How did you train it to talk?!"

"I'm a free Pokemon! I taught mehself!" Meowth said angrily.

"You have never been caught in a Poke Ball?" Ash asked in interest.

"Nope!" Meowth gloated.

"Thunder Wave," Ash said to Pikachu.

"Wha?!" The two humans from Team Rocket said in shock.

Ash telekinetically restrained them and then had Pikachu use Quick Attack on Meowth, knocking it into a wall and then followed it up with four more Thundershocks. Ash wasted no time in catching the hostile Meowth in a rare Friend Ball.

And just in time for Officer Jenny to arrive... late.

"They tried stealing the Pokemon, but I stopped them," Ash reported.

"Great work!" Jenny replied.

"Thanks. A wild Meowth that could somehow talk was with them, but since it didn't have a trainer I caught it."

"That's fine. I'll take these two into custody." Jenny replied, not thinking to question Meowth. Ash didn't care, he would and then he would use that info to wipe out Team Rocket.

* * *

Once Ash's captured Pokemon were healed, he began trading them off.

Ash managed to trade the weakest Gyarados for a weak Dratini. It had to be put through a lot of training, but Ash had his future Dragonite.

Ash ended up getting getting a Larvitar, a Houndour, a Charmander, a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Dratini, Elekid, Magby, Alakazam, Onix, _and _Gengar. Most were low level, but Dratini was level 21 and Ash traded the level 30 Gyarados for it. Larvitar was level 19. Ash had traded off _all _of the captured Pokemon and was soon off to train his Pokemon for his first Gym Battle in Pewter City.

With that decided, Ash entered the Viridian Forest, battling trainers and even catching a Caterpie against his better judgement. Thankfully it evolved into a Metapod pretty quickly, but evolving it into a Butterfree was a huge pain with its low speed.

While training Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur, Squirtle evolved into Wartortle, and Metapod evolved into a Butterfree. Ash had Charmander working on his land speed.

Ash's other Pokemon were merely leveled up to level 16 or higher.

While in the Viridian Forest Ash worked on completing the Pokedex... Ash caught a Weedle, a Kakuna, a Beedrill, a Hoothoot, a Noctowl, Bellsprout, and two Oddish. The Weedle, Kakuna, Hoothoot, and Noctowl were all released though. Ash was up to 30 out of 151 Pokemon caught, which was a great start.

With the last trainer in Viridian Forest defeated, Ash exited the forest, eager to challenge Brock, the Gym Leader for the Pewter City Gym.

But first Ash took his Pokemon to the Pokemon Center for healing... they were thankfully cleared for battle within five hours.

With his Pokemon cleared for battle, Ash entered the Pewter City Gym and stated his challenge.

"Very well," Brock agreed.

"This will be a two on two Pokemon battle. The first trainer to lose two Pokemon will lose the battle." The referee, a child said.

"Go Onix!" Brock said.

"Go Ivysaur!" Ash said.

"Onix! Tackle attack!" Brock said.

"Dodge and use Sleep Powder!" Ash ordered, and watched as his orders were carried out. "Good! Now, Vine Whip!" Onix was still asleep, but damaged. "Poison Powder! Now, Leech Seed!" Brock grimaced at how thorough Ash was being in securing his victory.

"Now... Vine Whip him until he's unable to battle!" Ash ordered and Ivysaur obeyed. It was brutal. but it secured Ash's victory a minute later.

"Onix is unable to battle! Gym Leader choose your next Pokemon." The referee said and Ash returned his Ivysaur and sent out his Wartortle. Ivysaur was tired and had gained experience and a win, so Ash wanted it to rest and be saved for a last resort. Ash wanted a fully rested Pokemon to face Brock's fully rested Pokemon, a Geodude, and if necessary Ivysaur could later face a tired Geodude.

"Use Tackle!" Brock called out.

"Water Gun!" Ash said clearly, despite his surprise at Brock making such a mistake. It took out Geodude, though Ash was displeased by the lack of challenge.

"The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

"Here's the Boulder Badge; proof of your victory over me. 1000 Poke dollars has been transferred to your account." Brock said.

"Well, thanks for the badge and good luck on your future battles," Ash replied. "Has Gary Oak been by yet? Or any trainer from Pallet Town?"

"Gary Oak has been, but he narrowly lost and is training to re-challenge me," Brock said. "Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But I'm pleased to know that I won my first badge before he did though." Ash replied. "Anyway, thanks again for the battle."

After having his Pokemon checked over by Nurse Joy again Ash departed for Mount Moon...

Ash's Pikachu was quickly leveled up to 30 due to trainers with weaker Pidgey, Fearow, and Spearow.

Dratini was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Dragonair.

Pidgey was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Pidgeotto.

Elekid was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Electabuzz.

Magby was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Magmar.

Larvitar was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Pupitar.

Houndour was leveled up to 30 and evolved into Houndoom.

Onix and Butterfree were leveled up to 30.

Ash had also captured more Pokemon... Ash caught a Zubat, Paras, Clefairy, Sandshrew, Sandslash, Geodude, Rattata, Raticate, Ekans, Mankey, and an Arbok. Ash had caught 47 out of 151 Pokemon. Ash released the Zubat, Paras, Clefairy, Sandshrew, Sandslash, Rattata, Raticate, Ekans, Mankey, and Arbok.

As for the Geodude, Ash began training it while continuing his travels to Cerulean City...

On Route 4, Ash caught a Poliwag, Goldeen, Psyduck, Krabby, and Seaking, and then released every single one of them. It was cold, but Ash had no real place for them and was using catch and release methods to avoid neglecting them after they served their purpose. It was better than the other option... neglect was a far greater form of abuse compared to asking to catch Pokemon and then releasing them as agreed upon.

Ash was ready to continue onto Cerulean City when he stepped onto a trap and suddenly fell into a hole...

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

Ash teleported behind them and pushed _them _into the hole.

"How about no," Ash replied, before taking their money and Pokemon.

"Give us our money and Pokemon back, twerp! And Meowth too!" Jessie screeched.

Ash ignored them and transferred their money into his account before killing them both with Cutting Curses to their necks. After disintegrating them, filling in the hole, and destroying all evidence of their presence, Ash _finally _continued onto Cerulean City. Ash just released Jessie's and James' Pokemon since they were of no use to him, but Koffing was added to his Pokedex.

Ash _finally _entered Cerulean City, eager to win his second badge.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review responses:**

**frankieu:** Glad you enjoyed it. Ash has no use for Meowth, but Meowth could advance human-Pokemon communication by years.

**Hardwin Potter:** Oh good, a troll. If you think this is the worst then you haven't read enough crossovers... mine is far from the worst. The shiny, larger Magikarp is canon according to my memory, I believe and I vaguely recall Ash and Gary hoping to catch it with a Poke Ball they were fighting over. Ash caught this Magikarp in chapter one of my story and you supposedly quit before reading chapter two where Ash caught a Caterpie. Are you done harassing me while demonstrating your abysmally low IQ? If so, please return to your mothers basement and reacquaint yourself with the English language; specifically capitalization and punctuation. You are being downright absurd and idiotic and behaving like an especially dumb twelve year old.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** It needed to be done, IMO. Ash needed to capitalize on opportunities and with strong Pokemon to trade he had those opportunities. Meowth was never captured and is legally a wild Pokemon; no different than an animal showing up and eating thrown out food and sticking around. Plus Ash is a known and trusted trainer due to associating with Professor Oak and Team Rocket are the enemy. Yes, Ash killed Jessie and James, which was largely wish fulfillment for me... they ruined the show for me when I was younger. In this chapter you will see Ash take action against Team Rocket and will see some harshness born of his previous life. Passing up competition, maintaining a lead and momentum, and having spare time to increase or waste as needed is very important.

**snixxjuice214:** Thanks. I generally post every day.

**keyblademeister88:** Glad you're back for another story of mine and that you like the story so far. I wanted those idiots dealt with early because they ruined the show for me. If you hate Team Rocket then you'll love this chapter.

* * *

After his Pokemon were cleared for battle, Ash wasted no time in challenging the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean City Gym.

"I'm here to challenge you to an official battle for the Cascade Badge," Ash said.

"Like, okay," a sister agreed.

"This will be a two on two Pokemon battle. The first trainer to lose two Pokemon will lose the battle." The referee said.

"Go Dewgong," Lily said, and Dewgong got into the water.

"Go Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Use Aurora Beam!"

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash replied and Dewgong was unable to dodge and was hit with the full brunt of the attack.

"Dewgong is unable to battle! Gym Leader choose your next Pokemon." The referee said and Lily returned her Dewgong and sent out her Shellder.

"Use Water Gun!" Lily ordered.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash countered.

"Protect!"

Once the Protect faded, Ash ordered Pikachu to use Electro Ball, which was defended against by Protect again. "Thunderbolt!" This time Protect failed and Shellder was struck with Thunderbolt...

"Dewgong is unable to battle! The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

"Like, here's the Cascade Badge; proof of your victory over me. 2000 Poke dollars have been transferred into your account." Lily said.

"Thanks!" Ash replied.

After having his Pokemon quickly cleared for battle by Nurse Joy, Ash continued on his journey... battling trainers, catching more Pokemon, winning money, and preparing for his next gym battle against Lt. Surge.

It was after defeating an amateur trainer and his Rattata with Pikachu that Ash learned of another nearby Gym.

"Yeah, he lives over there. A.J. trains savage Pokémon. He built his own gym. He's never lost a single match." The trainer said.

"I'll check it out, thanks," Ash replied.

Ash wasted no time in visiting the unofficial gym.

"So, I hear that you're the guy to beat around here," Ash said in lieu of a proper greeting. "98 wins, quite impressive. Do you hand out any badges if beaten or anything signifying victory?"

"Nope, because I won't lose," A.J. replied confidently.

"Prize money if beaten?" Ash asked.

"None, I keep it to fund my own training."

"Lame," Ash replied before starting to walk away. At least he picked up some interesting training methods, but A.J.'s were surprisingly still considered legal.

"Scared?" A.J. asked mockingly.

"Of wasting my time for nothing but an easy win? Yes." Ash replied. "You probably don't even have enough money to bet... beating children for their pocket change and allowance and all. I'm sure that those easy victories are great for your ego though. It lets you pretend to be a strong trainer." A.J. was angered enough to be manipulated now.

"Name the prize!" A.J. said angrily.

"30,000 Poke dollars, full six-on-six battle."

"Deal!" A.J. replied, sending out his Sandshrew.

Ash, however, sent out his red Gyarados, much to A.J.'s shock. Ash's Gyarados was about 35 feet long.

"Defense Curl!" A.J. ordered.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash replied and Gyarados quickly generated and unleashed the attack... one-hitting A.J's Sandshrew.

"Go Butterfree! Use Stun Spore!"

"Counter with Twister and then end it with Flamethrower," Ash replied calmly.

Butterfree was quickly defeated and Beedrill joined it soon after.

Meanwhile, A.J. kept getting more frustrated and sending out his Pokemon to be overpowered by Ash's level 60 Gyarados.

It was an easy win... Ash only did this due to A.J. implying that he was a coward. Plus A.J. needed to learn some humility.

To his credit, A.J. had some integrity and actually paid up.

"You're a great trainer A.J, that's undeniable. Your training techniques are brilliant and inspiring, and I will be emulating them. You should travel though and battle more varied trainers. I've been traveling a short time and I have more wins than you." A.J. nodded, thinking about it.

"I'm close to a hundred wins, but I'll be prepared to travel soon," A.J. replied.

Ash nodded, not really caring either way and left A.J.'s gym very pleased with himself, having doubled his money.

* * *

After winning a bunch of money off a bunch rich kids at the Pokemon Technical Institute and inspiring a few students to drop out, Ash continued on his journey... he caught a Vulpix and Growlithe to keep and caught a Snubbull to release.

Ash was just nearing a Pokemon Center, having briefly gotten lost, when he noticed a Charmander in poor health on top of a rock. It was visibly exhausted and its flame was weakened... in short it was nearing death.

"Did your trainer abandon you?" Ash asked sadly.

"Char! Char!" Charmander denied naively, causing Ash to sigh.

"Let me take you to the Pokemon Center at least, it's suppose to rain soon and you will die if your flame goes out... and it's already on the verge of that without rain. Plus there are the nearby Spearow who could eat you." Ash said. Charmander refused, but Ash confirmed with his Pokedex that it was released rather than merely abandoned. "Charmander, your trained _released you_... he no longer has a legal claim on you. If you insist upon waiting and risk your life then I will capture you to save your life. Otherwise, you need to come with me until you are cleared by Nurse Joy." Ash extended his hand and after thinking about it, the Charmander took it and Ash picked it up.

Ash wasted no time in rushing it to the Pokemon Center.

"Nurse Joy, we have a case of abandonment by an unknown trainer. They left this Charmander to die a slow death and even released it. If I find the trainer, I will want your report included with my suggestion that their license be revoked." Ash showed his Research Assistant certification to Nurse Joy.

"I'll tend to him and will update you regularly," Joy replied.

With his previous life of eavesdropping and gathering info on enemies, Ash opted to start recording some conversations within the Pokemon Center... Ash would need more than just his word to have a license revoked.

The first thing that caught Ash's attention was someone carrying more than the common legal limit of Pokemon... over 50 of them. Ash could feel the evil of ones mind... such selfishness, ruthlessness, cruelty, remorselessly, laziness, and evil ambition. The group sat down.

"You sure got a lot of them."

"Just look at them, it's a pretty cool collection," the evil one said.

"Way cool!"

"You're the man Damian."

"Yo! I thought you had a Charmander too!"

"Yeah, I had one, but that puny thing was so weak that it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents." Damian.

"So... what'd you do with Charmander?"

"Eh, I left on some rock in the woods. That thing is so stupid no matter what I do to it it keeps on following me. I finally got rid of it by promising that I'd come back for it! It fell for it! It's probably still there waiting for me! Hahahaha!" Damian.

"I bet it's still up there wagging its tail!"

"It'll probably wag it so long that it'll put the flame out!"

"Yeah for sure!" Damian.

Ash went to get Nurse Joy and shared the recording with her and Professor Oak and Officer Jenny on the phone.

"I'm enroute to place him and his friends under arrest," Jenny said angrily.

"There is no licensed trainer meeting his description and name..." Oak reported with a frown. "Ash, I am authorizing you to strip him of his Pokemon and either keep, release, or arrange for them to have a good home. This Charmander was likely stolen, purchased, or won off a rookie trainer."

"Yes, Professor," Ash said.

The call was ended and Officer Jenny arrived minutes later... she and Ash wasted no time in approaching Damian and his group of thugs.

"Damian?" Jenny asked, causing Damian to suddenly become nervous. "You are under arrest for Pokemon Abandonment, abuse, training Pokemon without any class of Trainer License, and far exceeding the legal carrying limit." Damian knew that the jig was up and went for one of his Poke Balls, but found himself psychically restrained by Ash... when his buddies tried it too so were they. "That will be attempted assault charges for all of you. Ketchum, you may strip Damian of his Pokemon and carry out Professor Oak's orders."

"No!" Damian said angrily, as all of his Poke Balls were levitated over to Ash and then placed into a bag. Damian had just lost over seventy Pokemon!

Once Damian and his thugs were in handcuffs they were taken into custody... Damian would be doing over thirty years in prison.

Ash, however, was left to pick up the pieces Damian left behind. Ash was awarded custody of a Venomoth, Golduck, Machamp, Rhyhorn, Magneton, Dewgong, Dodrio, Eevee, Misdreavus, Gligar, Heracross, Piloswine, Skarmory, Donphan, Sudowoodo, and many other Kanto and Johto Pokemon.

Most were underfed and poorly treated, but those that Damian had deemed weak were outright abused. One was an Eevee... she had a dull coat and had eyes that perfectly conveyed her sadness, sense of hopelessness and defeat, and her severe depression. Using Aura, Ash learned that she didn't like battles and that Damian had forced her to engage in them. All except Eevee were level 40 or higher.

"Your former trainer, and I use that term loosely when referring to him, will soon be placed in prison. You were all placed into my custody to be rehabilitated, kept, or released." They all looked hopeful. "Eevee, I think that my mother can provide you with a loving home... she already agreed; if you're interested. She isn't a trainer so if you do battle it will only be in severe and unlikely life-or-death circumstances. I doubt that you'll ever have to battle though." Eevee responded enthusiastically and jumped up and down in excitement, making Damian's other Pokemon happy for her.

Damian's former Dewgong; level 45, and Golduck; level 46 were given to Misty of Cerulean City, who was traveling to become a Water-type Master. Professor Oak arranged for her to receive them. Misty had come to him for more information on Water-type Pokemon and Oak had introduced her to Wallace, Juan, and Siebold of the Kalos Elite Four. All were renown for specializing in the Water-type; Wallace was a former Champion, and Juan was just below Elite Four level. Ash even gave Misty Damian's level 60 Tentacruel since he had no real need for it.

Venomoth was given to Janine; the daughter of Koga, the Fuchsia City Gym Leader.

Leaf, also from Pallet Town, was given the Dodrio, Skarmory, Donphan, and Charmander. Ash had no concerns about giving her all of them, she was an amazing person and one of Ash's few true friends in this world. When most backed Gary due to his more out-going personality, family name, and wealth she stayed Ash's friend... Ash spent as much time as he could with her without sacrificing his dreams and duties.

Flint, the Pewter City Gym Leader, was given Sudowoodo.

Ash sent a delighted Eevee to his equally delighted mother. Poor Eevee just wanted to live, be happy, and be loved and now she would finally get her chance away from Damian.

The others would be kept, trained, and evolved by Ash.

Damian's crimes, which turned out to be more extensive, got him 55 years in prison. His buddies ended up getting several years each.

**Line break-remove text and replace.**

With that issue resolved, Ash continued his journey and was working to get all Pokemon at least level 35. While doing that Ivysaur evolved into Venusaur and Geodude evolved into Graveler. Even Vulpix and Growlithe were leveled up to 35...

Despite all that training Ash had made great time in reaching Vermilion City. Too great actually. Ash's battles were quite one-sided and he could accurately predict his opponents moves and counter them. Sure, he had greater knowledge and had learned from the greats via the Resurrection Stone, but Ash had to soak it all up, learn from them, and actually apply what he learned. They were just average trainers, of course, but Ash was at least above-average.

It seemed to Ash like barely any time had passed before he arrived at Vermilion City and after having his Pokemon cleared for battle, Ash entered the Vermilion City Gym.

"I'm here to challenge Lt. Surge!" Ash called out.

"Welcome to the Vermilion City Gym, baby. Please proceed to the designated zone and we'll get this over with."

"Sure thing, old man," Ash replied, causing Surge to glare.

"This will be a three-on-three battle with substitutions allowed only for the challenger." The referee said. "The first to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle."

"He's talking about you grandpa!" Ash said, angering Surge.

"Go Raichu!" Surge said.

"Go Graveler!" Ash said.

With electric attacks being ineffective, Surge ordered Raichu to use Mega Kick, but Ash countered with his Graveler's Rock Throw. Raichu was knocked backwards, badly injured, and Ash used the opportunity to have Graveler use Stealth Rock and then ordered it to use Bulldoze and another Rock Throw to Raichu's face.

"Raichu is unable to battle. Lt. Surge send out your next Pokemon." The referee said.

Surge sent out Voltorb next and snarled as it took damage from Stealth Rock, but things didn't improve for Surge or his Pokemon. It was brutally beaten down and was soon left unable to battle.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Lt. Surge send out your final Pokemon." The referee said.

Surge smirked and sent out his Electabuzz, with not even Stealth Rock's effect wiping it from his face.

"Use Quick Attack and then Thunder Punch!"

"Bulldoze!" Ash replied and Graveler's attack effected Electabuzz's footing and causing it to fall. "Rock Throw!"

"Bust em apart with Thunderbolt!" Surge ordered, halting the attack. "Tear apart the battlefield with Thunder!"

"Bulldoze as Thunder hits!" Ash replied.

Ash's strategy paid off and the two forces devastated the battlefield... but only Graveler was able to continue battling, and even then he was barely standing. "Would you like to surrender?" Ash asked, but a glare was his response. "Rock Throw!" Ash ordered and Electabuzz was unable to move.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle. The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

Ash and Surge returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the ruined battlefield.

"Alright. You won and I was beaten badly. You had a brilliant strategy though, and it got you the Thunder Badge and 3000 Poke dollars." Surge said, handing Ash his newly earned badge.

Ash and Surge entered the Pokemon Center and handed their Pokemon to Nurse Joy for healing. Ash took a seat, withdrew his laptop, and looked through the International Trade offers, but saw nothing of interest to him at this time.

"Can you believe that those Gyarados and Tentacruel are still causing trouble? No one is willing to catch them all, not even for the 200,000 Poke dollar reward offered."

"Do you get to keep the Pokemon if you capture them?" Ash asked, butting into the conversation.

"Yeah kid, but it's dangerous."

"Isn't everything?" Ash asked in return. "Where do you collect the reward?"

"The mayors office," Surge interjected when the sailors refused to answer. "But be careful and take your time. You _can _beat them, but you'll need to reduce their numbers first."

Ash surprised everyone when he used Pikachu, Electabuzz, and a Magneton that used to belong to Damian to defeat and catch them all. Ash was praised as a hero for saving the cities ability to sustain itself through the importing and exporting of goods, and most importantly he was paid the agreed upon sum.

It was as Ash was leaving that he was offered a free ticket to the St. Anne, but after briefly scanning the persons mind Ash learned that Team Rocket was involved... the person offering was a disguised Team Rocket Grunt. Ash politely refused, citing the need to catch up to rivals... a lie, Ash was still _slightly _ahead of Gary. It was with a sigh that Ash resigned himself to infiltrating the St. Anne to dispose of Team Rocket.

* * *

Ash had easily infiltrated the St. Anne and then hid and waited while picking off Team Rocket's members.

One was hung. Another was crucified. Ash even flayed another that he found. The point is that Ash wanted Team Rocket afraid and horrified... _that_ was why he burned one alive in a magically sound-proofed room. Okay, it wasn't strictly necessary and neither was tearing one apart, but Ash wanted them more afraid of him than their leader who Ash had recently learned was named Giovanni... the Viridian City Gym Leader. He, too, would die... very very painfully.

When Team Rocket revealed themselves and went to steal Pokemon, Ash disabled all recording devices and then crushed all of Team Rocket's machines.

With his voice distorted, Ash chuckled, unnerving everyone. "You know... you can only do so much until people start fighting back. Unlike most, I favor more permanent solutions... I've killed several members of Team Rocket and with each death the world was made a better place." Ash revealed himself, telekinetically pinning a member of Team Rocket to a wall and then driving objects through their body and clothes to hold them there. "I'll need a witness to tell your boss... as for the rest of you vermin..."

Ash lifted dozens of them.

"Have a small taste of all the pain and suffering that you have all caused..."

What Ash did there would be remembered for _centuries_... Some were literally crushed by his immense psychic power. Some were burned. Some were torn apart... Most Team Rocket members tried begging, but none were given any sort of mercy.

"Isn't it simple and effective? Replacing evil with death." Ash said. "These... animals will do no more evil now." Ash ripped the still living Team Rocket Grunt from the wall, causing him to scream in agony. "This little worm shall serve his sole remaining purpose now."

After a quick stop in the middle of nowhere, where Ash cast a spell on the grunt, and then shoved an explosive device up his ass... What? It was unfortunately necessary. Ash had to replace his gloves and burn the old ones though! He was the real victim!

After sodomizing a man for the first time in two life-times, Ash teleported the grunt into a selected Team Rocket base and after saving/stealing all of Team Rocket's Pokemon, Ash detonated the explosive device...

Remember that spell that Ash cast on the grunt?

It altered the grunts body to be more... explosive. Alchemy really was a wonderful thing!

The entire base was obliterated in an instant with no survivors or any communications leaving the base.

With Team Rocket dealt a small blow, Ash continued on his journey.

* * *

**St. Anne, days later...**

Lance, Dragon Master, member of the Kanto Elite Four, Champion of the Johto region, and an agent of the Pokemon G-Men was concerned. There was someone brutally killing Team Rocket members and therefore destroying valuable sources of intelligence for a war effort against them. They were cold, methodical, and exceedingly brutal... the crime scenes indicated that they were doing it just because they could and to scare Team Rocket. Worse still, they were inspiring others to follow their lead.

"What can you tell Sabrina?" Lance asked, having asked the Saffron City Gym Leader to consult.

"He's a psychic of truly incredible power," Sabrina replied. "He is powerful enough to match some Psychic-type Pokemon, which shouldn't even be possible. After exerting himself so much he should have been too exhausted to teleport distances beyond what psychic's can trace, but he teleported _twice_ that I sensed. For that matter, I wouldn't be surprised if every psychic in Kanto sensed it."

"Where did he teleport to the second time?" Lance asked, thinking that the killer may have been behind the destruction of a Team Rocket base. Sabrina stating the area proved that. "That was a Team Rocket base that he destroyed... no survivors or evidence left behind. Can you tell me an age or any other locations that he's been?"

"No, I'm being blocked and he may have teleported into an area rich in psychic energy to hinder any enemy psychic's..." Which Sabrina was annoyed by, any hypothetical children that she had with this man would be greater than any other psychic... as such locating him was highly desirable.

Lance sighed. "So nothing that could help me track him or build an actual profile..."

Both were unaware that they were being watched... not with psychic abilities, not with technology, but with magic. Ash was pleased that Sabrina couldn't track his magic, but he vowed to be cautious and continue watching them both.

* * *

**Team Rocket HQ, one week later...**

Giovanni, Leader of Team Rocket, and the Viridian City Gym Leader was enraged by the defeat dealt to Team Rocket. He had lost _millions_! Dozens of grunts were lost on the St. Anne and hundreds were lost in the destroyed base. None of his spies had any useful information! All Giovanni knew was that it was a male human psychic that actually knew how to wage war... unlike the other weak idiots he dealt with.

Team Rocket members now feared the enemy instead of Giovanni... Giovanni's only consolation was that Mewtwo would soon be ready and with it Giovanni would destroy _all _of his enemies. Not even the Pokemon League, G-Men, or Elite Four would stop him then!

"S-sir," an assistant said nervously.

"Yes, what is it?" Giovanni asked angrily.

"Pokemon Land was destroyed and the Celadon Game Corner was exposed. All Team Rocket personnel were killed..."

"You're telling me that Pokemon Land was destroyed?" Giovanni asked, deathly calm.

"Y-yes sir."

"Get out!" Giovanni yelled in rage, a mad look in his eyes. The assistant wisely ran like her life depended on it... and it did. _Billions_... Giovanni had invested _billions _into Pokemon Land in R&D, development, promotion, licensing, and security. It was all gone now! "Damn it!"

Pulling up the reports only made things worse. Celadon Game Corner... all Pokemon rescued, non-Team Rocket personnel who were involved in illegal activities were all taken into custody, and the Game Corner, a big earner, was closed down.

Pokemon Land had the rides and robotic Pokemon destroyed, but the real estate and buildings were spared for some reason. Destroyer unknown... Method of destruction unknown... Giovanni was truly enraged and he suddenly realized that this person knew who he was. Giovanni's identity was compromised, yet this person hadn't exposed him and his crimes. They wanted him dead... and Team Rocket permanently destroyed and wanted no-one getting in their way.

At least they had some nerve and knew how to wage war... Team Rocket had existed for over fifty years and _this _was their first real threat. If they had their people imprisoned, they were freed; unless they talked then they were killed. Bribes, extortion, spying, murder... Team Rocket had used all of these methods to maintain their power. No one had ever decided to just kill Team Rocket's people, reclaim the Pokemon, and wipe out the bases. This person had and was actually a real threat.

"I look forward to facing you... whoever you are, but I just hope that I'll see you coming and give you a good fight." With that Giovanni returned to his work.

Ash had spied upon Giovanni too. Giovanni _wouldn't _see him coming. Ash knew how to wage war from his previous life and he would make certain of it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Review Responses:**

**frankieu:** I hope you won't be disappointed with how the battle or lack of battle happens.

**SkylerHollow:** Well, hopefully this chapter or the next will help you decide.

**Creus:** Welcome. I'm sorry to inform you that pairing are already decided and the story is pre-written. I never finish a story unless it's pre-written and then published.

**dragonfighter11:** Sorry the pairing is already decided and the story is pre-written. This insures that the story is completed.

**Dylan-A-Friend:** Thanks.

**Lezaroth:** The brutality is too induce fear in Team Rocket and cause desertion, purely for that reason. I believe that people in the Pokemon world are too white hat too effectively wage war properly. The captured amount is to help readers keep track along with Ash/Harry himself and further immerse themselves. The playing is a cover, Ash can be on the west side of Kanto for an alibi and then kill Team Rocket on the east. If Ash doesn't get badges or train while a prodigy then that will raise questions. Logically his war with Team Rocket would be a full time job; recon, hunting, decrypting files, and killing and Ash already has a full time job and is using his psychic abilities to do two. Instead people are saying, oh there is Ash Ketchum battling that trainer while a psychic is killing elsewhere hours later.

**keyblademeister88:** No, Sabrina won't be his wife/lover.

**Chocoholic202:** Thanks.

**Sigurd:** The biggest logic conflict is this for Harry: Why aren't they just wiping out Team Rocket? Team Rocket is as bad as the Death Eaters. For me the character development is showing the differences and similarities between canon Ash and Harry and how they handle situations. Rivals are hard, Ash is close to being an Elite GYm Leader currently with just his water Pokemon. Instead he'll just face obstacles as whole in the way of him achieving his goals. I did armies of enemies for a reason; to add further conflict.

* * *

After dealing Team Rocket a massive blow Ash continued traveling, training, and catching Pokemon... this time he caught two Poliwhirl to later evolve.

In preparation for his battle with Erika, Ash began training his Pokemon up to level 40... which meant more evolution's.

Charmeleon, Pidgeotto, and Wartortle had all evolved into Charizard, Pidgeot, and Blastoise respectively.

Unfortunately, Ash had also lost a Pokemon.

His Butterfree had fallen in love. It was largely Ash's fault, he knew that Butterfree were mating and Ash wanted his Butterfree to make its own choice on that. Several Butterfree, including Ash's own and the Pink Butterfree that he fell in love with agreed to live on the island that Ash was given by Fate and Death. They would be safe though and Ash could check on his Butterfree often and could visit him. Ash loved all of his Pokemon and he would miss them when he outlived them... their deaths may even finish breaking him.

That was years away though and Ash was focused on the current gym battle.

"Hello," Ash said politely to the Gym Leader, Erika. "I'm here to challenge you for the Rainbow Badge."

"I accept," Erika replied. "It will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle."

Ash nodded and the referee took their position.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle. The first trainer to lose all three Pokemon will lose the match."

"Go Tangela!" Erika said.

"Go Pidgeot!" Ash said, while hoping that his strategy would work.

"Stun Spore!"

"Gust and then Aerial Ace!" The Stun Spore was dispersed, also damaging Tangela, and Pidgeot quickly attacked and damaged it further. Wasting no time, Ash had Pidgeot use Gust once more...

"Tangela is unable to battle! Gym Leader, please send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Weepinbell! Use Razor Leef!"

"Gust and then use Aerial Ace!" Unlike Tangela, Weepinbell survived it and tried using Poison Powder. Ash ordered Pidgeot to use Aerial Ace, it was time to test his counters for Powder and Spore attacks... Pidgeot flew through the Poison Powder, its speed and force overwhelmed the Poison Powder, casting it aside, and struck Weepinbell with such force that it was sent flying and then crashing into a wall.

"Weepinbell is unable to battle! Gym Leader, please send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Gloom!" Erika said, looking somewhat hopeful that her oldest friend could put up a better fight. "Use Toxic!"

"Knock it back with Gust!" Ash ordered. "Use Agility to get close and then use Wing Attack!"

"Dodge and use Mega Drain!" Erika ordered.

Gloom wasn't fast enough to completely avoid the attack and took some damage, but Mega Drain hit and Pidgeot would eventually faint...

"Use Aerial Ace, back to back!" Ash ordered.

"Try dodging Gloom!" Erika said in a panic.

Both trainers watched Pidgeot beat Gloom into submission... Gloom couldn't heal fast enough with Mega Drain and was getting damaged far faster than it could recover.

"Gloom is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Erika and Ash returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battle field.

"I present you with the Rainbow Badge; proof of your victory over me, and 4000 Poke dollars have been transferred into your account." Erika said.

"Thanks," Ash said before leaving.

Before leaving Celadon City Ash purchased evolution stones for when he eventually evolved his Pokemon, more potions, an Xtransceiver, and more supplies.

Now Ash had to get his Pokemon up to at least level 55 to battle Sabrina and Koga... the good news was that at that level he could win both badges and exploit apparition or teleportation for quick travel. The bad news was that he also needed to train Damian's former Pokemon to that level... twenty Pokemon to train. At least with teleportation or apparition Ash could make up for lost time.

Thankfully, there was an abundance of trainers traveling to purge some Diglett and Dugtrio and Ash got to battle them all... unfortunately he was too late to battle Gary. Ash won a lot of money though.

With training came further evolution's though... Dragonair evolved into a Dragonite, Pupitar evolved into a Tyranitar, and Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon.

After learning all they could in their current forms, Onix was evolved into Steelix, Electabuzz was evolved into Electivire, Magmar was evolved into Magmortar, Vulpix was evolved into Ninetails, and Growlithe was evolved into Arcanine and learned Extreme Speed.

Ash had also finally evolved his Staryu into Starmie, his Shellder into Cloyster, and his two Poliwhirl into a Politoad and Poliwrath.

Ash was still training, as per usual recently, when he saw an Articuno fly past him.

Catching it wasn't an opportunity that he could pass up... Ash wasted no time in pursuing it on the back of Pidgeot and having Charizard use Flamethrower on it... knocking it to the ground and allowing Charizard to continue his attack; dealing massive damage despite an apparent power and level disadvantage. Unknown, to Ash, the Articuno had a wing injury and was already tired from struggling to fly. In another universe this Articuno would have been caught by Noland, but it was being spared the shame of being ordered around by a loser in this universe. One more Flamethrower from Charizard and Articuno was defeated.

Ash threw an Ultra Ball and after three dings it registered a successful capture.

"Great work Charizard and Pidgeot," Ash said before returning them. "Let's get Articuno healed up, Pikachu. We need to befriend it too."

"Pika!" Pikachu replied.

It took a few hours, but Articuno was healed and Ash was eager to introduce himself.

"Hi, Articuno, I'm Ash," Ash said with a smile. "This is Pikachu."

"Pika!"

"I'm the trainer who caught you and I'm looking forward to us becoming friends and growing stronger as a team," Ash said, and despite the humiliation he suffered, Articuno was interested in growing stronger. His defeat was unacceptable to him... he wanted to be the strongest of his kind. With that in mind, Articuno decided to go along with it and get stronger.

Ash intended to provide Professor Oak with Articuno's abilities, move list and information on when it learned them... it would advance the Pokedex project greatly.

Still, people would eventually find out and Articuno would be targeted for theft and study... Ash needed to reduce his much larger list of enemies _now_.

* * *

Taking Poke Balls and Pokemon from Team Rocket was easy. Destroying the bases and committing mass-murder was also disturbingly easy... Evading the G-Men and International Police was _slightly _harder.

Ash was nice about it though and left them a message... he wrote _quit getting in my way _in the bodies of Team Rocket members and put a dead Team Rocket Grunt in each persons home... He put them in their showers and bath tubs for easy cleaning though. It was horrible and gruesome, but Ash was trying to wage a war and couldn't have that interfered with. Team Rocket was a disease and only their death and complete eradication was a valid cure... Ash was given this mission by a higher power and he would tolerate no opposition from naive and idealistic idiots.

Ash had just finished devastating the Team Rocket Academy, having killed every person there and sent them all to Death, freed all of the Pokemon, and stole a lot of other building material for his plans when he examined some data taken from Team Rocket.

They had created another Mewtwo...

The first was created over a decade ago and escaped and was later caught by Red in Cerulean Cave and was given to Blaine... it later died due to being genetically unstable.

This one was all Mew DNA though and was suppose to be far stronger and more stable. Not even Articuno was likely to be strong enough to defeat Mewtwo alone. Ash didn't exactly have a lot of time and couldn't just expect a bunch of Legendary Pokemon to show up whenever he needed them, so he had to teleport onto New Island without any aid other than his Articuno.

When Ash arrived, he wasted no time in slaughtering the security in a blur of speed, teleportation, brutal physical strikes, and aura and psychic attacks.

None of them ever stood a chance and the mangled bodies proved that.

Dr. Fuji's scientists were slain after having knowledge ripped from their minds...

"Dr. Fuji... I heard that Giovanni offered you funding in exchange for cloning Mew... _Very _well done. I can feel his energy in the air. Unfortunately for you, powers far beyond Giovanni and his Team Rocket disagree and require a complete purging of Giovanni's powerbase. This includes you..." Dr. Fuji looked suddenly more fearful. "Don't worry... you will be reunited with poor Amber soon enough." Privately, Ash felt great sympathy for the doctor.

Dr. Fuji was restrained and Ash drained his knowledge of genetic manipulation and cloning, but gained little knowledge of use due to his own intellect and knowledge. Having no further use for the misguided doctor, Ash snapped his neck and approached Mewtwo's tube.

_"Hello, Mewtwo,"_ Ash spoke telepathically.

_"Hello..."_ Mewtwo replied.

_"These scientists created you to be their slave and to serve a vile being who would use you to conquer and enslave, and make his organization money... You were cloned from Mew, a Legendary Pokemon, and you are an improvement upon it... I have been charged with purging Team Rocket and groups like them from this world... and I would like you to join me. I can help you control your power and grow it even further."_ Ash said and he felt Mewtwo scanning his mind to see if he spoke the truth. Mewtwo saw the scientists thoughts and Ash's actions, but he was unaware that Ash was concealing some things due to not fully trusting Mewtwo.

_"You have been destroying Team Rocket to save the world and innocent people and Pokemon?"_ Mewtwo asked.

_"Yes,"_ Ash replied.

_"And you intend to continue making the world a better place for people and Pokemon, and can help me too?"_ Mewtwo asked.

_"Yes, that is why I asked you to join me..."_ Ash replied.

_"I will join you,"_ Mewtwo said, before destroying his tube and then levitating closer to Ash. _"I will let you catch me... I know that doing so will allow me to travel with you undetected and will get you closer to your goal of mastery."_

Ash removed a normal Poke Ball from his pocket and tapped it onto Mewtwo's arm... after three dings it registered a successful capture.

With Mewtwo captured, Ash made a copy of all data on the labs servers and then placed the entire island under the Fidelius Charm... Ash _loved _free stuff and Team Rocket no longer had any need for it.

Ash destroyed five more bases that night before returning to his island to swap his Pokemon and clothes.

"Everyone, meet Mewtwo," Ash said. "He's the newest member of our team."

"Pika!" Pikachu said cheerfully, and everyone else greeted the shy Mewtwo who returned their greetings.

"Team Rocket tried recreating the original Mewtwo and this time they produced a stable and more powerful version... I spoke with Mewtwo here and he disagreed with the scientists and Team Rocket's goals and behavior and he agreed to be caught. Team Rocket should be dealt with in a few months and then I can focus on training all of you up. Originally I wanted you all at level 85 or higher, but due to this war we'll have to settle for just being strong enough to win." The Pokemon nodded in understanding.

"The good news is that I'll be sticking with a small number of Pokemon in Johto; all of my current Pokemon, while battling gyms and working on the Pokedex. By doing this you will all grow far beyond the level of 85 and hopefully be strong enough to _easily _defeat the Elite Four and Champion one day."

The Pokemon all cheered.

"Giovanni and Team Rocket shouldn't last much longer, but people will start abandoning him and leave him with only the true believers in his cause remaining. I'll need to watch those who quit and possibly deal with them at some point if they return to crime." Ash's Pokemon all nodded in understanding, having had this all previously explained to them. Ash was cleansing this world of evil and was leaving them in a safe place to prevent them from getting killed... They all knew that Ash loved them and that he was doing it for good reasons... to make the world a better place for both people and Pokemon.

"Politoad and Poliwrath," Ash said and they stepped forward. "I've trained you both up to level 55 and you were both evolved... would you like me to release you back into the wild as promised, keep you, or give you to another trainer of good repute?" Ash used telepathy to receive their answer.

_"Can you release us on your island? We would like to be able to visit or come back if we ever want too."_ Poliwrath, the male said. Politoed, the female, seemed to desire the same thing.

"Yes, I can," Ash replied, suspecting their reasons for having safer home... they both wanted to mate. Mere moments later, Ash released them as they had requested. They would have to avoid feeding on all of the Butterfree and their offspring, but that was easily done. They had befriended the Butterfree and Ash would also place more wards for safety. Both Poliwrath and Politoed left for a nearby pond that they were fond of; eager to truly start their lives together.

With his team ready for Sabrina and Koga, Ash looked forward to winning his next badge tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Review Responses:**

**Lezaroth: **Silver is a minor character, on the Pokemon wiki he's listed as Silver (Sevii Islands), and in my story he's Ash's dad. I might use it to hide knowledge, but I have another option for the Legendary issue. His older Pokemon receive training to maintain their power and skill.

**Lazymanjones96:** Well I'm posting two chapters today to celebrate the story being added to a community and gaining a hundred followers.

**frankieu:** You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** If Sabrina learned that she would probably just extort him into conceiving children with her in the future. Yeah, Ash had years of preparation and the Resurrection Stone for advice.

**SkylerHollow**: Ash was given entire armies of enemies in the form of Team Rocket and the like. Ash will also battle champions and Elite Four to spice things up.

**keyblademeister88:** Glad you liked that little joke at Giovanni's expense.

**Lilithnocte:** Yeah, Team Rocket had to die in at least one of my stories. And the pairing is... Ash/Cynthia, but it'll be a minor thing.

* * *

Ash had arrived in Saffron City and was eager to challenge Sabrina and hopefully get his fourth badge. Ash was reasonably confident in his victory and he had trained his Pokemon hard. Ash had trained his Gengar, Houndoom, Misdreavus, and his Tyranitar to the point that they should easily win him the badge. Ash would be using Gengar, Tyranitar, and Houndoom against Sabrina though, they had the advantage and should help him win. Ash entered the Saffron City Gym.

"Hello?" Ash asked, seeing an empty room. "I'm here to challenge Sabrina to an official battle!" Ash sensed someone trying to sneak up on him, but not with any ill intent so he let them have their fun despite his own irritation.

"I'll lead you to Sabrina," a nearby voice said.

"Thank you," Ash replied, finding the old mans annoyance at having failed to scare him very amusing.

"Lady Sabrina. You have a challenger, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." The old man said before leaving.

"Thank you," Sabrina said, speaking through her doll with her powers. "Your mind is the most well-protected that I've ever encountered. It's a solid impenetrable wall of power guarding it. Very impressive." Sabrina said, admiring Ash's mental defenses created over a period of several centuries of life in his original world.

"Thank you," Ash replied, finding the attack on his mind annoying.

"This will be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions allowed." The referee said. "The first to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle."

"Go Espeon!"

"Go Houndoom! Use Foul Play!" Ash said, starting off strong and inflicting major damage to Espeon. It was super effective and then Ash had Houndoom follow it up with another Foul Play; rendering Sabrina's Espeon unconscious, and shocking Sabrina with the speed and brutality. Ash wanted to end this quick to save Houndoom's strength for her other Pokemon.

"Espeon is unable to battle. Gym Leader Sabrina, send out your next Pokemon." The referee said. Sabrina sent out her Mr. Mime next and had it use Psychic.

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!" Ash said, though Mr. Mime sent it right back at Houndoom, activating her ability of Flash Fire and strengthening her. Ash decided to use his own psychic abilities to communicate with Houndoom. They were vastly superior to Sabrina's powers and would help him greatly.

_Flamethrower_, Ash commanded to Sabrina's shock and Mr. Mime suffered severe damage, which was then worsened by a Foul Play attack and finally a Crunch attack that caused it to faint. That Flash Fire ability was really helpful!

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle. Gym Leader Sabrina, send out your next Pokemon."

"Go Abra!" Houndoom dodged the Psybeam and counter-attacked with Smog and then followed it up with Flamethrower. Houndoom was suddenly grabbed and then slammed into the floor, walls, and floor again, while Ash waited. _Flamethrower! _Ash thought suddenly and Abra took a direct hit and was burned, but still managed to blast Houndoom into a wall, unconscious.

"Houndoom is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokemon." Ash returned Houndoom and sent out Gengar.

_"Destiny Bond!" _Ash mentally commanded, while Abra was still recovering. Ash smirked when it hit. That secured his victory. _"Hex." _Ash mentally commanded and Abra was blasted into a wall. _"Shadow Ball barrage!"_

"Abra is unable to battle. The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

Sabrina levitated over and silently presented Ash with the Marsh Badge. "5000 Poke dollars has also been transferred into your account. Your psychic abilities are quite impressive for an eleven year old."

"Thank you. I'm self-taught." Ash replied, but they were actually quite mediocre considering that he was centuries old. His psychic potential grew greatly in this short life and his abilities were actually quite under-developed.

"Feel free to contact me you are ever interested in further training."

Ash merely nodded in reply, having no intention of doing so. Spending more time with Sabrina would risk his exposure and it wasn't impossible that he would have a lapse in concentration or forget to conceal his true full power. Sabrina would be the most likely to expose him as the one wiping out Team Rocket and that was unacceptable to Ash.

After having his Pokemon checked out and healed, Ash apparated to Fuchsia City.

* * *

For his battle with Koga, an Elite Four candidate, Ash would be using his Steelix, Graveler, and Tyranitar, but had his other Pokemon on hand to better adapt to Koga's strategies. Ash was fortunate to get his battle request immediately accepted.

"This battle will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle, with only you allowed to make substitutions." Koga said. "This is to make it more challenging for me." Koga added in explanation.

Ash nodded, and sent out his Steelix. Koga sent out his Venomoth.

"As the challenger you may have the first move," Koga said.

"Alright. Sandstorm!" Ash said, to Koga's annoyance. That move had just countered his spore and powder moves quite well.

"Use Toxic!" Koga ordered.

"Counter with Dragon Breath and then use Stealth Rock," Ash ordered, and once Steelix did as ordered, annoying Koga further in the process, Ash had Steelix use Rock Slide to knock Venomoth down to the ground and then Stone Edge to finish it off.

"Venomoth is unable to battle. Gym Leader Koga, send out your next Pokemon."

Koga returned his defeated Pokemon and sent out his Koffing, which took damage from Sandstorm and Stealth Rock, but Koga had it use Smokescreen and then he ordered it to get close... to counter Koga's suspected strategy Ash had Steelix use Dig. Sure enough, Koga blindly ordered Koffing to use Self-Destruct, not realizing that Steelix was safe under ground.

Ash just took the win and smirked when Koga looked shocked.

"That's why you don't fight blind..." Ash said with a smirk.

"I am a Ninja Master, I can easily fight blind," Koga refuted.

"Apparently not, oh mighty, wise, and powerful Ninja Master. Or maybe it just applies to actual human battles." Ash said, angering Koga. "Either way, please send out your final Pokemon. If my Steelix can do a team sweep on you then I'm throwing a party."

Koga glared and sent out his Golbat, which took damage from Sandstorm and Stealth Rock.

"Steelix, surface and use Rock Slide!" Ash ordered.

"Double Team!" Koga replied, and Golbat evaded the attack.

"Use Dragon Breath on all of them!" Ash ordered and the Golbat were quickly burned away and the real one was revealed. "Rock Slide!"

"Golbat is unable to battle. The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

Koga walked over and presented Ash with the Soul Badge. "6000 Poke dollars has also been transferred into your account..."

"I'm surprised that I was beaten so easily, but you are very skilled and your Steelix is very well trained. I look forward to watching you in the Indigo Conference and hopefully battling you in the future should you decide to challenge the Elite Four and Champion."

Ash nodded and after saying farewell he left the Fuchsia City Gym.

After having his Steelix healed, Ash continued traveling and training...

In the Safari Zone Ash caught a Chansey, which was extremely fortunate for him.

After winning over twenty-thousand Poke dollars off trainers, Ash was in good spirits... it was ruined when he discovered an abandoned Eevee. He wasted no time in taking it back to its trainer... who abandoned it due to lacking the nerve to stand up to his idiotic brothers. And then they tried pressuring Ash into evolving his Pikachu into a Raichu.

"Okay, morons, listen up," Ash said, angering them. "You don't even know my Pikachu's personality, level, or his own ambitions. He wants to reach the limit of his strength as a Pikachu, which is quite a bit. Skill and experience can counter a more evolved Pokemon and that is an undeniable fact that is accepted by experts everywhere. If you ever force another trainers Pokemon to evolve then you can have your trainer license stripped from you. Yes, that is a great crime that you so casually speak of committing... it strips a trainer of their choice and a Pokemon of their choice."

"You evolved your Eevee's too soon and they lost access to several helpful moves due to your immaturity and mind-numbing idiocy. As for you, Mikey. Know your rights and don't be afraid to stand up to your idiotic brothers... your Eevee could have died, gotten eaten, been stolen, or you could have gotten into serious legal trouble. Consider this an unofficial warning from the Research Assistant of Professor Samuel Oak... and yes I do have the authority to do that." The brothers were angry, but were easily cowed into submission.

Ash raided Evolution Mountain for a lot of Evolution Stones, a little gold and silver, and a Pidgeotite Mega Evolution Stone... Ash was silently building up his collection collection of Mega Stones and he already had several.

Eventually, Ash arrived at a town plagued by a sleeping Snorlax and his sympathy for people who could soon starve to death was stirred. A casual use of the Imperious Curse and Snorlax was up and even ate the thorns that were blocking the river. Ash had tried to catch it, of course, but it already had a trainer.

Ash settled for a simple thank you after informing the mayor that the Snorlax had a trainer.

With his powerful Pokemon, Ash easily defeated the two rival gyms and bound them in chains. They were stripped of their wealth, which was set aside to pay for repairs to the city, and once a Nurse Joy from the Pokemon Inspection Agency got involved she insured that they would rebuild it themselves as punishment.

Of course while doing all of this traveling, Ash was also training. Getting all Pokemon up to level 60 was fun... Ash mainly battled other trainers and won their money.

At level 60, Ash evolved his Rhydon into a Rhyperior and his Graveler into a Golem.

As for the others, Ash began teaching them moves... Blastoise learned Hydro Cannon, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Ice Beam, and Venusaur learned Frenzy Plant, Energy Ball, Double-Edge, and Toxic.

* * *

As for right now? Ash learned of a fossil rush and arrived in Grampa Canyon mere minutes ago. Ash had one plan and one plan only... use magic to find fossils and resurrect them, and then rebuild the population. Before he went public with that project Team Rocket and groups like them would all have to be purged... but all would be soon enough. Ash was hoping to deal with the Orre regions problems such as Team Cipher and Snagem soon, but he would also have to build a league and government there afterward.

"Point-Me Aerodactyl-" Ash began, but the Elder Wand suddenly pointed down. "I love magic!" Ash said, before warding the area and then using a tunneling spell to go down and catch it.

Ash arrived minutes later and he had a warded tunnel accessible only to him, and quickly cast spells to support the cave better.

It wouldn't do for it to come down on his head after all!

"Go Electivire, Pikachu, Magneton, Venusaur, Blastoise!" Ash called out, making sure to be loud. "Okay, we are hunting for a thought extinct Pokemon and we need to catch it and any others that we may find down here."

Drawing them out sort-of worked, but it attracted Pokemon other than Aerodactyl. According to the Pokedex, they were Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, and Omastar. Ash wasted no time in ordering his Venusaur to use Frenzy Plant, and Pikachu, Magneton and Electivire to use Thunderbolt. The ancient Pokemon never stood a chance; not even with what Ash suspected were powerful abilities, and all quickly fainted. Ash caught them all moments later.

"Keep your guards up. There is suppose to be an Aerodactyl too."

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said, pointing in a direction where a strange noise was coming from. Ash psychically linked up to his Pokemon... Once it came into sight, Venusaur used Solar Beam, Blastoise used Ice Beam, and both Pikachu and Electivire used Thunderbolt, knocking Aerodactyl out. Ash quickly caught it.

"Thank you, all of you. With these few Pokemon a few species might be brought back from the brink of extinction."

Ash went to the surface to contact Professor Oak to warn him before he kept searching.

"Hello Ash. I just noticed your five new captures and I was about to go check on them. Is that why you're calling?"

"Yes, Professor. You know of the fossil rush on Grampa Canyon?" Oak nodded. "The rumors of extinction were somewhat exaggerated and I captured Aerodactyl, Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, and Omastar. Two of each except the Aerodactyl. I'd like you to be extra secretive. This is a chance to restore near extinct species."

"That's incredible, Ash!" Oak said, looking forward to studying them. "Of course I'll keep them secret."

"Great. If Team Rocket found out... well it wouldn't be at all pretty. I'm working on locating huge numbers of fossils and if possible start breeding them to restore the populations... perhaps within a few centuries there could be larger numbers of them. I'm going to get back to searching, Professor."

"Take care, Ash," Oak replied, before ending the call.

Ash spent two days searching, but he found no more still living and thought extinct Pokemon. Ash found a Mega Evolution Stone for an Aerodactyl, a lot more fossils, rare metals; gold and silver, and he ended up leaving the subterranean cave very pleased with the fruits of his labor.

It was as he was leaving that he discovered a Pokemon egg... Ash didn't hesitate to pick it up. Ash hoped that it was an egg of a rare Pokemon, but he would cherish it either way.

After leaving Grampa Canyon Ash encountered a thief named Keith, who tried to steal his Poke Balls... Ash broke his arms and legs and then left him to suffer.

It was shortly after that when the new Pokemon Egg hatched... into a Togepi. Ash was glad that there were no witnesses, because he acted like a teenage girl when he was loving on it, but she was a baby Pokemon and didn't mind it. Ash was soon carrying Togepi _and _Pikachu around... Ash was also allowed to carry up to 13 Pokemon now after speaking with Professor Oak. Togepi had imprinted on Ash and saw him as her surrogate human father.

Ash also discovered another Team Rocket plot led by people named Butch and Cassidy, which Ash found odd. Jessie and James, Butch and Cassidy; it was an odd coincidence. Anyway, both were brutally killed and any of the stolen Pokemon were returned to their trainers.

Ash arrived on Cinnabar Island days later, eager to locate Blaine's disguised form and challenge him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Important announcement: ****I'm posting two chapters today to celebrate the story being added to a community and gaining a hundred followers. Chapter five and six are both new chapters.**

* * *

The day after arriving, Ash sought out the Riddle Master; Blaine's disguise, and he quickly arrived at the Big Riddle Inn.

"Hello, Blaine. I'm Ash from Pallet Town and I challenge you to an official battle." Ash said, to the shocked Gym Leader.

"How did you know that it was me!?"

"I'm a psychic," Ash replied truthfully.

Blaine nodded, accepting the explanation. "I'll lead you to my new gym. All of those annoying tourists kept disturbing me during battles and I built a new one... In a volcano!" Blaine said, causing Ash to doubt the mans sanity.

"Interesting, but very dangerous. Aren't you concerned a battle or some idiot might cause an eruption?"

"Not really. I keep my new gym's location a secret."

"Well, I'll try not to break a volcano, but I should warn you that I'm great at breaking stuff. I discovered the talent really young and it's largely effortless and accidental for me, and I have difficulty stopping." Ash said, to Blaine's amusement. "The Pokemon League really should pass regulations to prevent cases like yours. You've been driven from your own gym and forced into a less safe environment where you, Pokemon, and their trainers could die." Blaine nodded in agreement and they took their respective places on the battle field.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with substitutions allowed." Blaine said. Ash nodded in reply and sent out his Blastoise, with Blaine choosing a Rhydon.

"Horn Drill!" Blaine called out.

Ash waited and once Rhydon was closer he ordered Blastoise to use Hydro Pump.

"Clever. You let let me defeat myself." Blaine commented with a smirk. "Quite the powerful Blastoise you have. Go Magmar!" Blaine said, using his strongest Pokemon. "Fire Blast!" Ash knew that Blaine was going to try forcing Blastoise near the lava to force him to forfeit, so Ash telepathically commanded Blastoise to counter with Hydro Pump and brace for physical combat.

Sure enough, Magmar tried forcing Blastoise in the lava._ "Hydro Cannon!" _Ash ordered, to Blaine's shock. Magmar was blasted, at point-blank range, into a nearby wall, unconscious; thankfully one with an over-hang beneath it for Magmar to fall onto. Blaine returned the defeated Magmar to his Poke Ball.

"Telepathic communication?" Blaine asked.

"Yes," Ash replied.

"I think it's clear that you will just sweep aside my Ninetails, so I will forfeit." Blaine said, before sighing. "I've seen trainers like you before; prodigies. Still, you've worked hard on training your Blastoise and you naturally went with a type advantage."

"Well, Ash. I present you with the Volcano Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 7000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account." Blaine said, handing Ash his new badge.

"I wish you luck on defeating Giovanni, he's the strongest of the Gym Leaders." Blaine said, giving Ash a redundant warning. Giovanni would have probably been chosen over Koga for the Elite Four, but he was 'suspected' of being affiliated with Team Rocket.

"Thanks, Blaine. I'll be training for a month and then teleporting to Viridian City to challenge him." Ash replied.

They parted ways and Ash went to go defeat every trainer that he could find and alternate between that and normal training, where he pitted his Pokemon against each other and had them do other challenging acts like weight training, practice, learning and perfecting moves, and even meditation... Ash had over twenty Pokemon to train up to level 65, or level 70 if possible.

* * *

Due to facing weaker opponents, Ash quickly amassed a great winning streak and a lot of money... Ash was now a millionaire. At least his training on a nearby island had produced some worthwhile results in terms of training and levels, and Ash had also caught himself a Lapras and got it level 50. Apart from that, his Pokemon were learning more moves; mostly from each other, but Ash was using his Move Tutor ability to help them where needed. It was very efficient and allowed Ash to focus most where he was needed. Getting his Charizard, Dragonite, and Tyranitar higher than the others to unlock all of their naturally learned moves before the Indigo Conference was an area requiring his focus. They needed to naturally learn moves before being taught some more... they would be at a higher level than the others because of that.

Ash's Tyranitar was currently at level 73, his Dragonite at level 75, and his Charizard was at level 71.

Ash was battling, as usual, and had just defeated another weak opponent... his 170th win.

"What's going on here?" Ash heard an annoying and familiar voice ask.

"This trainer is undefeated! He has over 150 wins and 0 losses!" One of Ash's fans said in reply.

"I wanna challenge him! I do love breaking someone else's winning streak!" An annoying voice said, before the owner rudely pushed his way forward.

"I'm Gary Oak the greatest trainer to ever come from Pallet Town and I challenge you!" Gary said, not even paying attention to whom he was speak.

"I know who you are and you aren't even in the top ten," Ash replied, causing Gary to look at him.

"Ashy-boy! How'd you even get this far, let alone get a winning streak?" Gary asked. "Don't worry, I'll end it for you!" Ash just rolled his eyes, angering Gary in the process.

"You seem confident... how about you put your money where your mouth is... Unless of course you're all talk and false bravado."

"W-what do you mean?" Gary asked, having lost his momentum and gotten called out in the process.

"How much money do you have?" Ash asked with a predatory smile.

"600,000 Poke dollars!" Gary said, smirking and loving the chance to brag. It took a lot of work on his part to increase the small 20,000 PD a month allowance that he was given by his family.

"Well, if you're so confident about your future victory then bet it all," Ash said. "I'll match the wager..." Gary looked nervous. "Where is all that confidence now? Afraid your cheerleaders will leave when you can't pay them to worship you?" Gary looked suddenly nervous. That was a very real possibility and he wanted to sleep with them all when he was older. "Just like I thought... you're all talk. A coward who coasts by on his grandfathers and cousins name. I bet your mommy and daddy gave you all that money for eating your veggies like a good boy."

Ash's fans laughed at Gary, humiliating and angering the prick.

"I'll bet 500,000!" Gary said, and despite Ash not baiting Gary into betting it all he found that acceptable.

"Fine with me, but at least I know that you're all talk now," Ash said, angering Gary but Gary wasn't going to bet it all and risk his future.

"How do I know that you can match my wager?" Gary asked.

"Because I won it all with these good people as witnesses!" Ash said, gesturing to the people surrounding them and causing the people to cheer. Yeah, Ash knew how to work a crowd when it suited him.

"Fine! Go Blastoise!" Gary said.

"You're up, Pikachu," Ash said.

"Use Water Pulse!" Gary called out.

"Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Pikachu obeyed, but Blastoise used Protect. Ash had Pikachu used another Electro Ball, which was protected against, and then follow it up with a Thunderbolt when ordered... defeating Blastoise.

Gary's Nidoking and Nidoqueen were each defeated with a single Iron Tail due to their much lower levels.

"Go Arcanine!" Gary said. "Use Fire Spin!"

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt," Ash replied. Yet another of Gary's Pokemon was easily defeated.

Gary's Dodrio and Krabby were both easily defeated next.

"And that, everyone, is how you sweep teams and humble someone who has insulted you for years," Ash said, causing some laughter. Ash confirmed the transfer of his prize money. "Well, everyone, I'm ending my winning streak and training here on a high note. Feel free to watch me in the Indigo Conference!" Ash said. Most of them looked sad that they weren't going to get to watch him in person, but would watch him in the Indigo Conference.

Once the crowd dispersed, Ash went to speak with Gary. "Well, I've beaten Blaine and I'm leaving to defeat Giovanni. Good luck on your battle."

"Wait! I thought the Gym was closed!" Gary said.

"Nope. Just in a secret location." Ash showed his Volcano Badge. "You have to find the Riddle Master and solve the riddle before being led to the Gym, but it's worth it to battle such a skilled trainer."

"How do I find the Riddle Master?" Gary asked in annoyance.

"His title is a huge hint, telling you his title should make it easy for you." Ash replied.

"Thanks. I'll defeat you next time, Ashy-boy!" Gary said.

"Not at your skill level you wont, Gare-Bear!" Ash said, causing Gary's eye to twitch. "Later amateur hour!" Ash said, before leaving.

After having his Pokemon healed, Ash apparated to Viridian City.

* * *

When Ash tried entering the Viridian City Gym, he was informed that Giovanni would be back tomorrow and was dealing with personal business. Despite his displeasure, he opted to visit Professor Oak and his mother.

"Hello, Ash," Oak greeted politely. "I have the Aerodactyl ready for you and have completed my study of it. Thanks for letting me do that. It was a great opportunity for me."

"You're welcome, Professor," Ash replied, following Oak inside.

"I was surprised that you weren't interested in training the others... any particular reason?"

"I have several Water-type Pokemon and I'm not all that impressed with my Kabutops and my Omastar's capabilities. My Aerodactyl, however, is extremely appealing." Ash handed Professor Oak the Mega Stone; Aerodactylite. "It can Mega Evolve and I need to begin training with it and bonding with it before I even think of attempting it." Oak nodded, accepting the reasoning.

"The fact that you managed to capture such powerful Pokemon is very impressive, Ash. They are as strong as some found on Mount Silver."

"Thanks. My goal is to train there and perhaps battle Red someday." Ash replied.

"Well, be careful. I couldn't last two days there and Red... he's on another level. He's been training there for years and his Pokemon should be near invincible by now. The last time Blue battled him he was easily defeated and barely got to Red in the first place."

Ash nodded, already knowing how difficult it would be.

"I'm no where near ready to battle Red... I have a great winning streak and I'm now a millionaire due to my battling skills, but I'm still not ready."

"Impressive, Ash," Oak said, also sensing that Ash had something to tell him.

"I wanted you to hear this from me personally... I... also defeated Gary recently and Pikachu here swept his team... I won 500,000 PD off him. He was being arrogant, mocking, and dismissive and I decided to teach him some much needed humility. He even called himself the greatest trainer to ever come from Pallet Town!" Oak grimaced at his grandsons stupidity and arrogance. His parents coddled and pampered him far too much.

"I'm not angry, Ash. He's my grandson, but he is arrogant and overconfident... his parents spoiled him and fueled his ego. Gary is intelligent but he believes himself to be great already and never fully developed his intellect and skills to there full potential. Everything has always come easy to him due to his parents spoiling him." Ash nodded, already knowing that. "I'm actually kind of glad that you defeated him so thoroughly."

"You're welcome, then," Ash said, amusing Professor Oak.

"Your progress on the Pokedex is also great, but it registered the capture of a Mewtwo and Articuno..."

"Team Rocket created another more stable version, which I rescued, and Charizard beat Articuno."

"Be careful, Ash. Team Rocket is being slaughtered and I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire." Oak said in concern.

"I met the guy doing it, he was in disguise, but he allowed me to rescue and keep Mewtwo. He said that he had no need for Pokemon with his skills. Also, I have no affiliation with Team Rocket or crime, so I'm quite safe. I got the impression that he was sick of Team Rockets, gangs, and thieves existences and was just purging them himself. Evidently the league, G-Men, and International Police are either incompetent, weak, or have been bought."

"I'd like to study Mewtwo and Articuno some time, whenever possible," Oak said.

"Well, Articuno's ability is Snow Cloak and according to its memory it was born with the moves Gust and Powder Snow, and learned Mist, Ice Shard, Mind Reader, Ancient Power, Agility, Freeze-Dry, Reflect, Hail, Tailwind, and Ice Beam in that order as he grew up." Oak nodded, that was already a lot. "Mewtwo is more difficult; he was trapped in a dream land of sorts, but he knows Laser Focus, Psywave, Confusion, Disable, Safeguard, Swift, Future Sight, Psych Up, Miracle Eye, Psycho Cut, Power Swap, Guard Swap, Recover, Psychic, Barrier, and Aura Sphere. Both are level 75. I'm hoping to catch an Moltres and Zapdos soon too, and if they share more similarities with Articuno then we may get far more information on all three of them."

Oak nodded in agreement, still making notes. When he finished them he gave Ash his Aerodactyl's Poke Ball. "Well, here is your Aerodactyl," Oak said, handing Ash his Pokemon's Poke Ball.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go visit my mom now. I was going to challenge Giovanni, but he won't be back in until tomorrow, so I decided to come pick up Aerodactyl and visit my mom." Ash said, and after exchanging goodbye's, Ash departed Professor Oak's Laboratory.

**Minutes later, the Ketchum House...**

After knocking on the door just to mess with his mom, Ash was let inside.

"You've grown!" Delia gushed.

"Ee!" Eevee said, rubbing her head on Ash's leg and getting petted by him. Ash set Togepi and Pikachu down to play with her.

"I know! I'm taller than Gary now!" Ash said, to his mothers amusement. "I thought I'd come visit you while I was waiting for the Viridian City Gym Leader to finish up his personal business. Defeating Giovanni will get me my eighth badge and then I'm going to train until the Indigo Conference."

"How has your journey gone? I know that you got a late start..."

"It actually went great. Pikachu is great and he made a great starter Pokemon. Plus I had my older Pokemon from when I assisted Professor Oak, Gyarados easily defeated two wild Gyarados and a bunch of Fearow and Spearow. I caught a lot of them and got a starter set and several other Pokemon that I wanted by trading. I actually beat seven of the eight main Gym's before the others from Pallet Town. I helped Vermilion City by capturing the territorial wild Pokemon that were disrupting their trade and hindering their ability to get food, and helped two towns."

"That's great, Ash!" Delia said, proud of her sons success.

"Yeah, I beat Gary on Cinnabar Island too! Pikachu swept his entire team! Gary was so arrogant and dismissive of me that he bet 500,000 Pokedollars!"

"Exactly how much money do you have now Ash?" Delia asked.

"1,757,000 PD and I've hoarded some gold, silver, Evolution Stones, and other rare objects. I'm preparing for my future and I have several secret projects that'll make me globally known and respected, but they will take years to complete." Delia nodded along, not believing that the plans were as grand as Ash thought. At least Ash seemed to be managing his money wisely though.

"So why have you been sending me money?" Delia asked.

"So that you can work less and have more you time. Besides, mom, you took care of me and that wasn't easy with my father not sending you any money and with me studying to be a Pokemon Trainer and being in all advanced classes." Delia looked touched by his concern and consideration, but wanted Ash to think about himself too. "You can travel if you want, read, eat expensive dishes that you've always wanted to try but couldn't ever afford, and do almost anything. I know that you can take care of yourself with the inn and the restaurant, but I wanted to do this for you."

"Most trainers keep money for emergencies, Ash, and trainers sending money home is actually quite rare. Your father knew that I could take care of the both of us and he has a lot of financial demands with travel, fines from getting thrown out of places, and supplies. Most just focus on being a trainer and decide against having families at all. Your father and I met and we fell in love... and we quickly married and then you were conceived... Your father missed being a Trainer and traveling though and I knew that he wanted to continue... so I just let him go. I knew that it made him happy."

"He doesn't even call, write, or even let us know that he is still alive... he abandoned us. I don't even have a single memory of him. If he can't do any of those at least once a year, then I honestly don't think that he truly cares." Delia was heartbroken about Ash's lack of faith in his father.

"Ash... your father _does _care about you. He just isn't the most thoughtful or considerate person, but I still love him and remain loyal to him." Delia said, trying to help save Ash's belief in his father.

Ash just nodded in understanding, but he had never even truly met his own father. He hadn't even heard the mans voice. He had no attachment to his father or to his grandfather, which was kinda sad. Ash knew that his mother was partly lying, his father abandoned them. And if Ash ever met his father in person then he was going to punch him in the face... possibly repeatedly. The sad thing was that Ash didn't even really want a father... he was just disgusted with his father in this world.

To cheer her son up, Delia decided to make Ash some of his favorite foods.

"Will you be staying the night?" Delia asked.

"Yes, but I'll need to drop by my island that I discovered and claimed to feed all of my Pokemon. I have some rare and unique ones that I'm eager to keep secret from Team Rocket."

"Oh, what Pokemon do you have?"

"A red Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Togepi, Lapras, foreign evolution's of Kanto Pokemon, Dragonite, Kingdra, and a Machamp. I also caught an Articuno with Charizard." Delia was skeptical until she saw the look on Ash's face... he was telling the truth.

"That is a good idea then," Delia agreed. "You must have worked very hard to have such strong Pokemon already. Just be careful and I'm sure that Team Rocket won't target you."

"I will. Team Rocket won't be around much longer, and after that I'll just need to avoid lesser criminals until someone destroys all of them too." Delia was shocked by Ash's coldness. "Team Rocket and crime has only flourished while the League, G-Men, police, and the International Police have done nothing of use and now someone has an effective solution that has shown immediate benefits. Murder is horrible, but at least it produces results and Kanto is better for it. Team Rocket is on its last leg and its demise will serve as a warning to other like-minded scum."

"Ash! People are dying!" Delia scolded.

"Evil people who spread pain, death, and misery are all dying... When they're all dead there will be far less suffering and crime. People are all _glad _that Team Rocket is being destroyed. Stolen Pokemon are being returned to their trainers and poached Pokemon are being returned to the wild. It's horrible, but at least it works." Ash replied. "No one else had a better solution until this person showed up and starting ending the lives of the scum... I'm sorry mom, but I've begun to see things get better in Kanto and I support Team Rocket's purge quite strongly."

Both Ketchum's decided to avoid that sensitive subject for the remainder of the night; wanting to avoid an argument.


	7. Chapter 7

**Important announcement: Yesterday, August 3rd, 2019, I updated chapters 5 and six so please make sure that you read both.**

**Review Responses:**

**GGPD:** Yeah, that was my reasoning.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yeah. It always annoyed me that Misty and Brock stole a Pokemon egg from Ash, Misty got it eventually and then still acted like Ash owed her for a bike after that. I had no intention of ruining Ash and Delia's relationship.

**SylerHollow and Dylan-A-Friend:** Thanks.

**Chocoholic202:** Sorry that you were confused. Both chapters five and six were new.

* * *

It was finally the day that Ash would earn his eighth badge and he was looking forward to a great battle.

Ash entered the Viridian City Gym. "Giovanni! I've come to challenge you!" He called out.

"I've been expecting you, kid," Giovanni said, sitting on a raised platform in the shadows. "This will be a five-on-five battle, with substitutions allowed. Go Golem!"

"Go Blastoise!" Ash said.

Giovanni started the battle off by having Golem use Rock Slide, which was countered by Water Pulse and followed up with Hydro Pump; blasting Golem into a wall, unconscious. Giovanni returned Golem and sent out his Nidoqueen, which Ash knew could learn Thunder.

"Thunder!" Giovanni said, going right for the kill.

"Dodge and use Ice Beam!" Giovanni had Nidoqueen dodge it, but she was forced on the defensive and was eventually hit by an Ice Beam and rendered unable to battle, angering Giovanni, who needed to defeat Ash's powerful Blastoise.

"Go Nidoking, use Thrash!"

Ash had Blastoise dodge and use Water Pulse, which was dodged, but now Ash's Pokemon was forced on the defensive, but, unlike Giovanni's Pokemon it was in a fighting retreat and was still weakening Nidoking quite badly. A simple Rain Dance to exploit Blastoise' hidden ability Rain Dish to recover and then another Water Pulse and Giovanni had his third defeated Pokemon.

"Impressive," Giovanni admitted grudgingly.

Giovanni returned his defeated Nidoking and sent out his Dugtrio and had it use Dig. Ash replied by having Blastoise soak the ground in water to make it move easier and give hints as to where Dugtrio was... After figuring out where Dugtrio was going to attack, Ash had Blastoise use Protect, and once Dugtrio surfaced, used Hydro Cannon. Dugtrio was easily defeated and Giovanni returned it and sent out his Rhydon, which was quickly defeated by yet another Hydro Cannon...

"Well, you win," Giovanni said, very irritated. Giovanni tossed Ash the Earth Badge. "8000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account within the hour."

"Thanks, I'm off to train." Ash said before leaving.

After informing his mother of his victory, Ash left for his private island to train.

* * *

With his eighth badge won, Ash also decided to finally complete his purge of Team Rocket.

It actually didn't take him longer than a month.

Annie and Oakley, and Ash was starting to think there was a gag there, were both easily killed. Ash put them both to sleep and then killed them instantly... because that made murder so much better. Yes, that was sarcasm.

The Admins of Team Rocket were all hunted down and mercilessly killed.

All remaining Team Rocket grunts associated with the admins and teams were killed, and some who were still involved in crime but had left Team Rocket were murdered too. Ash was being _very _thorough in his purge and had already stolen billions in wealth from Team Rocket.

Ash just needed to kill Giovanni and the last surviving members of Team Rocket that had joined together for safety in numbers.

Viridian City Gym, the place where Team Rocket would finally die... When Ash arrived, he quickly killed the two men guarding the door and entered.

"What are you doing in here?!" An assistant asked, but she quickly had her throat cut and fell onto the floor and began to bleed out. Ash normally would have hesitated, but everyone here was with Team Rocket.

"Saving the world..." Ash replied, to the still living assistant, in a distorted voice caused by his disguise.

Ash used his Aura and Psychic powers to sense out Giovanni's supporters and kill them... crushing them, burning them, beheading them, and even blowing them apart with Aura Spheres.

And that was only in the actual gym, and not in the secret base underground.

Ash tore through Team Rocket at first, blasting the bases door to smithereens and sending shrapnel at the grunts... dozens died in mere moments and Ash continued the slaughter by killing over a dozen more.

And then Ash encountered Team Rocket members who were waiting for him... Ash was blasted into a wall by a Flamethrower before redirecting it onto other grunts and burning them alive. With a burst of psychic energy, all grunts and Pokemon were sent flying backwards, but Ash caught the humans and snapped their necks with a mere thought. The Pokemon, a Houndour, was quickly returned to its Poke Ball and was left unharmed.

Ash continued deeper into the base, but he sensed a team arriving to capture him. He used his magic and disabled all technology within the base... including the lights and night vision goggles. When the team arrived, all ten of them were easily killed by Aura Blades.

Using ambush tactics, hundreds were easily killed... and Ash was soon faced with Giovanni himself.

"If you join me, I'll make you a very powerful and wealthy man," Giovanni said, having restored power to his office.

"Die with some dignity, Giovanni... I already have money and power. I'd have thought that you would be asking me _why _I targeted Team Rocket."

"Why then?"

"Because you eventually succeed in ruling the world and expand your ambition to include the multiverse. Your one mistake was failing to understand that there were powers beyond even Pokemon... beings who embody concepts like Death, Fate, and Destiny... All of them want all versions of you dead. Speaking of..." Ash levitated Giovanni from his chair, taking his Poke Balls away and then pinning him to the wall.

Ash accessed Giovanni's accounts, draining them into his own untraceable account, and then Ash took knowledge of Giovanni's other assets, wealth, and resources.

"Death will see you now... well, after your execution, anyway," Ash said, before using a version of the Cruciatus Curse designed for executions that fed upon life-force to torture people to death. Giovanni lasted twenty minutes before he finally died, but Giovanni had the last laugh... all of his screaming gave Ash a headache.

With Giovanni dead and Team Rocket finally destroyed, Ash began training for the Indigo Conference. All known clients and agents of Team Rocket were later assassinated.

Pikachu, Gyarados, Pidgeot, Starmie, Cloyster, Kingdra, Venusaur, Blastoise, Steelix, Alakazam, Gengar, Electivire, Magmortar, Golem, Ninetails, Arcanine, Rhyperior, Houndoom, Machamp, Magneton, Gligar, Misdreavus, Heracross, and Piloswine were all leveled up to 75 and they began learning additional moves. It was very time consuming and _extremely _exhausting. Ash had to teach Piloswine Ancient Power so that it could finally evolve, but it was done and Ash was pleased with his Mamoswine.

Charizard was leveled up to 77 and was taught Blast Burn and several other moves.

Dragonite and Aerodactyl were leveled up to 81 and began learning new moves.

Tyranitar was leveled up to 82 and began learning a few more new moves.

Lapras was leveled up to 70 and began learning new moves.

Apart from that, Ash had doubled his base magical power, then tripled it, and then multiplied it by seven-fold with rituals. He could now support a lot of Pokemon with familiar bonds... a small army of them in fact. Pikachu and Gyarados were the first, Ash was the closest to them, and Charizard was next, but Ash was saving his power for his others and possible future Pokemon.

Ash also 'acquired' the designs of the machine to resurrect fossils and adapted it to operate in a magic-rich environment. Once that was done, Ash began resurrecting the extinct Pokemon and created a preserve for them all to live. Long term, Ash hoped to have their populations up high enough for trainers to be able to catch them in a few centuries.

It was inevitable that he would eventually tire of training and need a break though... It was also inevitable that Ash would also technically work during that so-called break... His goal? Catch a Zapdos and Moltres to complete the trio. Ash, of course, succeeded and he even killed some prick named Lawrence the third who intended to capture the original trio... an act that would have endangered the world. Ash had also added a few billion to his account.

Ash had also completed his acquisition of the wrecked Pokemon Land and the Celadon Game Corner and had bought up some of Giovanni's family estates and other properties. It required liberal applications of his magic, but it was done and his future was secure. The wrecked robotic Pokemon were salvaged and Ash had arranged for Pokemon Land to become a festival and tournament grounds as part of his plan for his legacy... an all new challenge with the strongest trainer at the top, a trainer stronger than any champion, and with former champions as the Elite Four, and Elite Four level trainers as Gym Leaders.

Ash wasn't sure why, but Death wanted to speak with him... Ash was nervous and was wondering if he had done all that was required to purge Team Rocket. Ash knew that he could kill anyone that he had missed and that neither Death nor Fate could kill him, but they could still make his life very very difficult. Still, Ash began to meditate so that he could focus on the conversation.

_"You aren't in any trouble, Ash,"_ Death spoke into his mind. _"You were extremely thorough, all those who deserved death were killed... and now you must be rewarded."_

"I'll be declining eternal life if it's offered," Ash snarked.

_"It won't be,"_ Death replied. _"How about a Mew that we resurrected? And a male Lugia that desires to grow far stronger?"_ Death asked.

"Will that get you into trouble?" Ash asked.

_"No, I am Death. Resurrecting humans __**is **__forbidden, but resurrecting any good Pokemon is acceptable. It betters the world by restoring its guardians... besides you have done a great deed and this is your reward. As for Lugia, he will come to you."_

"Then I accept," Ash agreed.

_"Good. We hope that you will destroy Cipher next,"_ Death said. _"They corrupt Pokemon and are a priority target, but a circle of holy fire will easily purify the Shadow Pokemon... Some may even wish to be caught by you."_ Death said, before retreating from Ash's mind without so much as a goodbye.

When Ash exited meditation he was greeted by a floating Mew.

"Hello," Ash said politely, and Mew replied by hugging him. "Okay then," Ash said in amusement, hugging Mew back. "Would you like me to officially catch you?" Mew responded by touching an empty Poke Ball and allowed herself to be caught... after she was successfully captured Mew came back outside and went to go play with Togepi and the others.

Ash only needed 13 more Pokemon and then he would have the entire Kanto Pokedex completed.

After retrieving his Pikachu, Electivire, Zapdos, Articuno, Gengar, Gyarados, Magneton, and, finally, his Gyarados, Ash went to wait for the soon to be arriving Lugia... and Ash expected a fight from it. Lugia would likely want Ash to prove himself worthy of being his trainer.

The Lugia arrived half-an-hour later and Ash was eager and hopeful.

"Hello, Lugia," Ash greeted. "Have you come to join me?"

_"Show me the strength of your Pokemon and I might,"_ Lugia replied, telepathically.

"Then face my oldest Pokemon," Ash said, before selecting his Gyarados' Poke Ball and sending him out. Gyarados roared in challenge at Lugia... a challenge that Lugia accepted with great confidence.

Lugia used Aeroblast, but Gyarados countered with Hydro Pump and the attacks were of equal power... Gyarados used Ice Beam next, which Lugia dodged and replied with Ancient Power, but Gyarados blew it apart with Dark Pulse and then used Thunderbolt, knocking Lugia into the water and allowing Gyarados to get in yet another Thunderbolt and then trapping Lugia with an Ice Beam. Still sensing Lugia's willingness to keep fighting and its usage of Recover, Gyarados blasted the ice apart with Hyper Beam, damaging the freshly healed Lugia and causing him to surface and attack the rapidly recovering Gyarados.

But that endurance and stamina training had paid off and Gyarados barely dodged and hit Lugia with another Thunderbolt before freezing Lugia in ice with Ice Beam.

"Now! Finish him with another Thunderbolt!" Ash called out, and Gyarados hit Lugia as it was still using Recover to heal itself, undoing the healing and allowing Ash and Gyarados to capitalize by using a final Thunderbolt... defeating Lugia.

Ash threw a Poke Ball, capturing Lugia... after three dings it registered a successful capture.

After having Lugia healed in his private Pokemon Center, which was partly automated, he introduced Lugia and Mew to his other Pokemon.

"Everyone!" Ash said, getting his Pokemon's attention. "This is Mew who allowed herself to be caught after being guided here, and this is Lugia he battled Gyarados to assess my skills as a trainer and to assess my Pokemon's strength. Lugia was defeated and caught."

"I'll win next time," Lugia stated boldly.

"In your dreams," Gyarados replied.

Due to both his Aura and Psychic abilities Ash easily understood them.

"Boys! You're both very strong, but save it for our enemies." Ash said, to his other Pokemon's amusement. "After the Indigo Conference I'll be training all of my Pokemon and thankfully most of the new Legendaries are around level 75-to-77, with Mew being at level 100. I hope to get all of you up to level 100 Post-Indigo Conference and while traveling through Johto and training for the Silver Conference." The Pokemon all cheered.

"There will be some really hard battles in the Indigo Conference, but if we all work hard, prepare, and are well-rested then we should manage a win. It will require an ideal balance between the three though... that's why we will be resting frequently and making sure that every single one of us is at 100%. That means routine check-ups after training. There are just a few weeks until the Indigo Conference so we will mostly be just maintaining your current strength, refining your control over moves and your bodies, and studying our possible future opponents. I will also be completing the Kanto Pokedex, only needing 13 more Pokemon."

So it was with three weeks until the Indigo Conference that Ash began catching Pokemon again... it wasn't that hard, until he realized that he needed a Snorlax and three Eevee's.

For the Snorlax, Ash was informed of one terrorizing the Grapefruit Islands. Ash easily caught it with his Machamp.

Eevee's were harder to get, but Ash had managed and getting them up to a level where evolving wouldn't ruin their potential thankfully wasn't hard.

Through hard work, luck, and divine favor Ash had finally completed the Kanto Pokedex.

With the Indigo Conferences beginning imminent, Ash went to sleep eager to prove himself and get himself one step closer to becoming a Pokemon Master.

To become a Master you had to complete the Pokedex; catching all Pokemon, win a League Conference, and then defeat the Elite Four and Champion. There were different kinds of Mastery though. Regional, multi-regional, national, multi-national, and finally global. The problem was that becoming a Pokemon Master was extremely difficult, but Ash was fortunate enough to catch Mewtwo; a truly unique Pokemon.

There were now two possible Pokemon Masters, and Ash was one of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Review Responses:**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yeah and due to Ash's power I've had to invent an OC for an opponent.

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah Giovanni was desperate and thought he'd focus on the big two wants. Also, I read your story: Harry Potter and The New Occupant and loved it. Left you a few reviews too.

**Lezaroth:** Yeah, I always liked the idea of having levels of Mastery. I always imagined Goodshow as a former talented trainer who just wasn't good enough to make it at the highest levels and decided to go into politics. If you're talking about Ash's private island then it already has a castle on it. The Island where Mewtwo was kept was taken for a secondary plot line that was dropped. Oh I think you might like Ash's battles. I had to create an OC to spice things up. You will get to see Ash mentor and help some trainers.

* * *

It was finally time for the Indigo Plateau Conference's opening ceremony to begin and Ash and all of his Pokemon were eager to begin battling.

"And the opening ceremonies of the Pokemon League competition are officially underway. This is where the top Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon come to prove their skill, their strength, and their spirit. These hopeful competitors will battle one another as they strive always for excellence and victory. A victory they will need to enter the ranks of the Pokemon Masters! And here they come!"

"The competitors are proudly entering the stadium, each having proved their worthiness by winning a minimum of eight Gym Badges!"

Ash entered the stadium with the sole intention of finally leaving it the winner of this competition... and one day the champion of the Kanto region.

"Here is President Goodshow to greet our competitors!"

"Welcome one and all! This stadium is a very special place, a place where those who truly love Pokemon have come to compete! Here the glow from the flame of Moltres burns brightly to light our hearts and spirits. Battle valiantly and keep that flame alive, in your heart and in your spirit!"

Once President Goodshow was done talking they began the competition.

Ash was first pit against a guy named Mandi, who Ash genuinely mistook for a female and greatly amused everyone in attendance and watching on TV. The guys Exeggutor was dominated by Gengar, who went on to easily defeat his Golbat and Seadra. Still, Ash remained humble and reminded himself that Mandi wasn't even a remotely talented trainer.

After another disappointing match, Ash battled Pete Pebbleman with his Rhyperior defeating Pete's entire team.

Jeanette Fisher had her team swept next by Charizard and given how weak her Pokemon were Ash was wondering how she even qualified. Her strategies were decent, but her Pokemon lacked enough power.

Sadly, Gary lost and Ash wouldn't get a chance to defeat him again in the competition. Ash had made it to the Top 16 though and was closer to possibly winning the Indigo Plateau Conference. Ash decided to relax in between his battles and watch the other battles... It seemed that Melissa, Ritchie, and Assunta would all advance and hopefully Ash would get to battle them all.

After his mother arrived and took over the kitchen in a restaurant and cooked for them, Ash enjoyed a nice meal with his mother and Professor Oak.

"So, Ash, did you get a bunch of training in?" Oak asked, Ash's battles had greatly impressed him so far.

"Oh yeah," Ash replied. "Have you checked my recent captures or Pokedex data recently?"

"I've been too busy, why do you ask?" Oak asked.

Ash handed him his Pokedex...

"Pokedex completed," Oak stated in shock. "How?"

"Befriended a Mew and battled a Lugia with my Gyarados. The others required hard work, and I also offered food and first aid in exchange for catch and release. I did it Professor. I did what not even the legendary Red could do. I may not have battled Mew, but I caught it."

"That's great, Ash. I was just surprised!" Oak said. "Do you still plan to travel before challenging an Elite Four and Champion?"

"Yes. I want to grow as strong as I possibly can before that." Ash said and Oak nodded in understanding.

"Two members of the Johto Elite Four were recently murdered for associating with Team Rocket and the Johto Champion Lance has been looking for replacements or substitutes to fill the vacancies... I told him about yourself and Misty; one of the Cerulean City Gym Leaders who dreams of being in the Elite Four. He expressed interest in recruiting you; at the very least as a substitute. If you continue doing well in the Indigo Conference it will only improve your chances... but you will need to choose one or two types with similar weaknesses while acting as one of the Elite Four."

"I can do Rock and Ground, Fire, and Flying; if five-on-five. I would have to use my new Moltres for Fire though, but Rock and Ground would allow me to give a great challenge to any trainers."

"Well, you can tell Lance that," Oak said. "Here he comes with Misty."

Moments later, Lance was greeting their table. "Hello, Professor, and I'm assuming that you are the Ketchum's?"

"Yes," Ash replied, overcoming his awe very quickly.

"May we join you?" Lance asked politely.

"Of course!" Ash, Delia, and Oak said.

"Thank you," Lance replied, pulling out a chair for Misty before taking his own seat. "As you all most likely know, Team Rocket was recently purged by an unknown assassin..." They all nodded, and Lance then continued. "Will and Karen of the Johto Elite Four were both affiliated with Team Rocket and after being defeated and murdered, I have been seeking replacements. Naturally, I asked both Professor Oak and Elm for recommendations. Oak here was kind enough to make my job far easier. Misty has been training with Wallace, Juan, and Siebold and has grown powerful enough under their guidance to be considered for the Elite Four. As for Ash, he easily defeated both Koga, Blaine, and Giovanni using one Pokemon per Gym Leader and having read his trainer profile I believe that he is easily Elite Four-level."

"We were actually just talking about that Lance," Oak said, before gesturing for Ash to take over.

"I can only use five Flying-types, but I can use Rock and Ground and Fire, but I would need my Moltres to have a full team of Fire-types. Rock and Ground would allow me to provide the best challenge for the trainers taking the Elite Four challenge."

"Ash is being modest. His Pokemon are _easily _strong enough to fight on par with the Elite Four." Oak said, and as a former regional champion who battled the Elite Four his word counted for a lot. "His strategic mind, ruthlessness while being gentle enough to not inflict permanent harm, and his ability to calmly predict his opponents strategies, and then dissect and counter them would make him a great boon to Johto's Elite Four."

"Would you be interested in substituting or joining full time?" Lance asked.

"I could substitute, but being full-time would prevent me from continuing my journey to become a Pokemon Master," Ash replied, to which Lance nodded.

"I'll continue observing your performance, but you are the best candidate so far for the second vacancy," Lance said.

Lance and Misty excused themselves and left.

"I'm gonna be on the Johto Elite Four," Ash said in awe.

"Most likely, yes," Oak agreed with a smile. Oak was pleased that his protege was thriving.

* * *

The next opponent Ash was to face was Ritchie, a recent acquaintance of his. Still, Ash wouldn't hold back against him.

Once the referee said his part the battle began...

"Go Sparky!"

"Go Charizard!" Ash said, not wanting Ritchie to return his Pikachu due to a major type disadvantage. Ritchie started it off with a Thunderbolt that did nothing due to the heat channeled within Charizard's body. Charizard used a dispersed Heat Wave that struck Sparky and then followed it up with an Overheat that left Sparky unable to battle.

"Go Happy! Use Sleep Powder!"

"Destroy it with Flare Blitz!" Ash ordered, and watched his Charizard fly across the battle field, destroying the Sleep Powder, striking the Butterfree and causing Happy to faint.

"Go Zippo!" Ritchie said. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Dragon Pulse," Ash replied, disappointed by Ritchie's choice in his final Pokemon. The Dragon Pulse easily overwhelmed the Flamethrower and blasted Zippo into the ground... unable to battle.

"Charmander is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Ash's next opponent was Assunta, who had her team defeated with relative ease and Ash advanced to the Top 4. His next opponent was far weaker.

Being one of two trainers left, it was down to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Bill from Hoenn.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with substitutions allowed and will have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Indigo League, win one million Poke dollars and other prizes, and gain the right to challenge the Elite Four and the reigning Champion at any time they desire."

"Go Espeon!" Bill said.

"Go Gengar!" Ash said, opting to play it safe at first.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Bill ordered, going immediately for the kill.

"Redirect it with Psychic!" Ash ordered and then had it followed up by another Shadow Ball, but from Gengar.

"Espeon is unable to battle! Bill send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Espeon, shocked at such a quick defeat and the tactics used. To be fair, most Psychic Pokemon can't redirect attacks, and seeing a Ghost-type do it was nearly unheard of. Bill decided to have his Alakazam wear down Ash's Gengar, he would be saving his best for dealing with his other Pokemon.

"Go Alakazam! Use Psychic!"

"Shadow Punch!" Ash ordered and Alakazam was heavily damaged and quickly put on the defensive. "Shadow Ball!"

"Teleport!" Bill said, panicking.

Alakazam barely managed it in time, but was hit by Hypnosis; putting it to sleep, then Toxic, Nightmare, Hex, and then finished off by Shadow Ball.

Bill's Medicham was quickly defeated next, by Night Shade. With Bill having had three Pokemon defeated, they were forced to take a short break.

Ash was amused when Bill's coach lectured him before getting dismissed by Bill and then led away by security. It was finally time for the battle restart, and Ash was hoping his Gengar's could continue sweeping...

"Go Gallade!"

"Go Gengar!"

"Gallade, use Psycho Cut!" Bill ordered.

"Catch it with Psychic!" Harry said calmly, and Gengar caught Gallade, suspending it in midair. "Hypnosis!"

"Use Dream Eater!" Ash said, and Gengar obeyed, damaging Gallade. Ash continued the assault, with a Dream Eater/Nightmare/Hex/Toxic combo.

"Gallade is unable to battle! Bill, send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Gallade and sent out his Gardevoir, smirking.

"Gardevoir! Mega Evolve!" Bill said, to the confusion of nearly everyone. Everyone watched as power emitted from Bill's Key Stone and Gardevoir and light enveloped Gardevoir as it evolved into its Mega-Evolved form. When it had finished evolving, Bill was extremely confident. "I'll be winning this conference and this battle!"

Ash laughed at Bill's over-confidence and then had Gengar use Mean Look and Destiny Bond, while Bill was rejoicing in his supposed victory.

"Use Imprison!" Bill ordered angrily, but only succeeded in annoying Ash with his strategy.

Ash sighed in annoyance and then had Gengar begin a brutal onslaught of Ghost-type moves. Or Ash intended too anyway. It fainted after four Shadow Balls and a Night Shade, and was left in very bad shape. Bill angrily returned his defeated Gardevoir and sent out his Metagross. Naturally, he also Mega-Evolved it.

Bill knew that he was going to lose, but at this point he just wanted to defeat even one of Ash's Pokemon.

Bill ordered Mega Metagross to use Meteor Mash and Ash ordered a Destiny Bond, and then a Shadow Ball that only briefly slowed Mega Metagross down before it hit Gengar. Gengar used Explosion, ending the battle to Ash's favor. Ash knew that his Gengar was too close to fainting to defeat Mega Metagross and win, but Explosion allowed him to secure the victory all by himself.

"Metagross is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has won the Indigo Plateau Conference! Ash, as most call him, is the second youngest to have done so, but he is the first to have only one of his Pokemon to faint during the Indigo Conference his victory. That, people, is an accomplishment for the ages! An as of yet unmatched accomplishment that many will seek to surpass!" The announcer said.

"Here comes the Champion, Atrius, and the President of the Torch Committee, Charles Goodshow to present our newest Champion with his trophy!"

"Well done, Ash!" President Goodshow said jovially. "You have certainly earned this and more. You and your Pokemon are all truly exceptional! Only one fainted! Impressive! For your achievement, you are awarded the title Champion of the Indigo League Conference, one million Poke dollars, and the right to challenge the Elite Four and Champion at any time you desire. Also, here is your Pokemon League Badge to signify your participation in the Indigo Plateau Conference."

Ash left the Indigo Plateau truly pleased with himself and with his Pokemon. He had actually won his _first _League Conference! He didn't ever expect to do that... he merely trained and prepared with that in mind, but he was still happy.

* * *

Ash's time after the Indigo League was great. Professor Oak was studying Ash's Legendary Pokemon and was advancing the worlds understanding of them by leaps and bounds with Mew contributing.

Unfortunately, Ash's Rock and Ground team was so powerful that he was positioned as the fourth of the Elite Four... no one ever made it to him. Ash had plenty of time to travel to Valencia Island and deliver the GS Ball to Oak.

At least Ash got more training in while killing time until Johto and his Pokemon had improved greatly. Ash battled a lot of trainers with the Pokemon that he wasn't using as an Elite Four member and won a lot of money off them. So many just wanted to test themselves and their Pokemon against him and his.

Ash had also gotten his Pokedex updated and he began working on purging Cipher and capturing Pokemon to speed up its completion.

Cipher would later go down in history as the most easily beaten of the teams.

Ash disabled production of Shadow Pokemon and killed everyone who knew how to corrupt more of them.

With Cipher essentially ruling Orre they didn't even bother hiding and Ash was able to kill so many so fast that Cipher never stood a chance... They were beaten in under a month. Team Snagem joined them in hell mere days later.

That left Ash with the duty of creating an entirely new league.

Finding enough type specialists wasn't very difficult. Justy became a Gym Leader and several others stepped forward and were given training. They designed their own badges, were given funding and further training, and Colosseum's were to serve as elite Gyms, schools, and also be used for tournaments. Ash was funding it temporarily with his own spoils from Cipher.

Best of all, Fate, Death, and Arceus had used their powers to give Orre more Pokemon... Pokemon from other worlds, but similar to the ones already there. All Pokemon within two worlds were relocated to others and two worlds ruled by people named Cyrus and Lysandre were each erased due to being unsavable.

For his reward, Ash was given former Pokemon of theirs... a Gyarados, Crobat, and Houndoom. Ash gave the latter two to Leaf.

It was the Orre Elite Four that was giving him trouble though...

Ash recruited another Rock and Ground-type specialist, a woman named Tera, and offered Misty a spot on the Orre Elite Four. He even got the third person, but he _still _needed a fourth.

Fortune had favored him yet again, however, and Lance, the Johto Champion, Kanto Elite Four member, and Pokemon G-Man member had been captured while spying and had caused some damage while trying to evade capture.

"Lancey, Lancey," Ash, disguised, said before making a 'tsking' noise. "Espionage, resisting arrest, and terrorism. That's a life sentence for you."

"Your government isn't legitimate!" Lance said angrily.

"And Cipher and Team Snagem's was?! They conducted inhumane experiments on people and Pokemon and many other crimes. I couldn't just destroy their government and then leave a vacuum behind for another tyrant to fill. I'm building a government, a new league, importing more Pokemon, and funding it all with Cipher's money."

"Tell me Lance... Who is more evil? I fight and permanently eradicate evil, but you let it fester. The reduced crime rate in Kanto? Me! Team Rocket's eradication? Me. Cipher and Team Snagem's eradication? Me!"

"I'm making the world a better place Lance... you just pretend too." Lance looked quite angry and would've punched Ash in the face had he gotten the chance.

"Where are my Pokemon?" Lance asked.

"In stasis. No food, water, air, or exercise requirement and they can only be let out when we decide too. But we'll get to that." Ash paused, irritating Lance further. "So, what will it be? Execution and likely a war with massive casualties? Or will you agree to act as the final member of our Elite Four and an ambassador to the Pokemon League?"

"Why would you let me have that kind of power?" Lance asked.

"Oh, you'll be replaced in the Elite Four as soon as I find someone strong enough. We wish to integrate with the Pokemon League, but we've also banned Legendary Pokemon from all official competitions and hope that the League will do the same. I'm no ruler. I'm just making sure that a tyrant doesn't step in and undo all my work here. Gyms have been established, leaders have been appointed, badges have been made, and three of the four Elite Four have been appointed. We just need more Nurse Joy's and Officer Jenny's, and a final Elite Four member... whoever defeats the Elite Four shall become the first Champion."

"There are others that you could recruit to your Elite Four... you met Ash Ketchum and let him catch the new Mewtwo," Lance said, fishing for information.

"He's just a kid who got lucky and won a League Conference," Ash said dismissively. "I let him have Mewtwo because I don't need any Pokemon to be strong."

"That kid could probably defeat me or at least come very close," Lance replied, angered at the insult to one of his temporary Elite Four. Lance considered Ash a viable successor; _if _he continued growing in strength and hearing this... _thing _insult him angered him greatly.

Ash was inwardly amused, but decided to just move on. It was good to know that Lance had such a high opinion of him though. "Yes or no?"

Lance sighed. "Yes, I'll accept your offer and help Orre, but this changes nothing between us. I won't rest until you are in prison where you belong."

"Well, you're doing wonderfully so far," Ash replied mockingly. "I understand your anger, Lance. Truly, I do. But the world is a far better place without Team Rocket, Team Snagem, and Cipher in it. I got results and all of Kanto, Johto, and Orre knows it... putting me in prison might not have the effect that you hope for. I have never asked anyone to emulate or join me; this is my task and sacrifice. Law enforcement had _decades _to try and they have no right to complain when someone finally steps up and does what they lack the will, ability, and conviction to do."

"I'll have someone let you out of your cage Lance, but if you try attacking me or any of these people... well, I'll do to you what I did to Giovanni and he _begged _to receive the mercy that he had never given anyone." Lance looked horrified. "I _will _purge this world of its major threats and no one will get in my way."

Ash left the cell, leaving a shocked Dragon Master in his wake.

After informing the others of Lance's choice Ash places eavesdropping spells on Lance's cape.

With his business in Orre concluded, Ash returned back to his island to change his clothes and pick up his Pokemon, and then to Pallet Town... Ash would be leaving for Johto soon and he wanted to rest some first.


	9. Chapter 9

**Review Responses:**

**keyblademeister88: Yes, it's allowed. The challenge just has to be scheduled. I hope you're able to start the story back up and get yourself another laptop.**

**Lezaroth:** Yeah, all that crime is great for plot advancement too. Ash won't be involving himself with the Orange League, it's unofficial and honestly unimpressive, and I've always viewed it as a hollow victory for Ash who in canon will never achieve his dream. The Crystal Onix inspired artists and its mere presence made the world a better place, so it won't be captured and all those Kabuto would be too hard to place and hide. Ash already caught a Kabuto and its evolution and the Omanyte and Omastar with Aerodactyl in Grampa Canyon. Blue will be Gary's elder cousin from his much older uncle and I have no plans to kill Silver, Blue or Green off.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks.

**SkylerHollow**: Glad you're liking the story and that I'm able too surprise you.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** The Johto travels will be minor since Ash is using his older and stronger Pokemon and sweeping teams.

**Buterflypuss: Thanks.**

* * *

There was a storm in the Johto region that was running through it unchallenged... that storm had a name... Ash Ketchum. With his strongest Pokemon as his main battlers no one was able to stop him. Ash easily defeated the Gym Leaders Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Chuck, Jasmine, and even Pryce. Apart from winning badges, Ash was engaging in many Pokemon battles, winning money, and was intensely training his Pokemon. Apart from that, Ash had caught himself a giant Magcargo, Shiny Noctowl, Chikorita, a Cyndaquil, and many other Pokemon, and had begun selling off his excess Evolution Stones.

But, right now Ash wasn't doing any of those things.

He was invited by Professors Oak and Foster to the Ruins of Alph who wanted his opinion on something. Ash was just hoping that the brief distraction of being invited to the Ruins of Alph would be worth his time.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ash," Professor Foster said.

"Likewise," Ash replied. "I was told that I would find your work interesting, so you must be excavating fossils or have discovered Pokemon that were thought extinct."

"Well, yes, to both," Prof. Foster replied, somewhat shocked by Ash's deduction. Prof. Oak was even more shocked. He hadn't expected Ash to figure it out that fast! Oak had personally only guessed and he invited Ash for that very reason after explaining it to Foster and getting his suspicions confirmed.

"And Professor Oak informed you of me restoring countless fossils and creating a secret preserve and you thought that I could help you with that?" Foster nodded yes.

"Well, I'm not sure how much help I can be. I'm sure that creating habitats and breeding conditions is well within your capabilities. The only thing I could think of is you needing them captured so that you could then transport them to a new habitat, but I advise against that... The natural habitat is best wherever possible."

"I'm not sure what to do. That's why I accepted Professor Oak inviting you due to your experience in this. I've only seen a small number of Omanyte, but Professor Oak said that you may have some ideas for locating others."

"I can retrieve my own Omastar and have it search. They prefer underwater caves and can even create them with time." Ash said.

After a brief discussion between the three, Ash teleported to his island to retrieve his Omastar. When Ash returned, he was greeted by the two hopeful Professors.

"Did you get your Omastar?"

"I did," Ash replied. "We can begin whenever your ready."

"We can leave immediately, then." Foster said.

Ash nodded. "Do you have any incomplete Aerodactyl skeletons that can have DNA samples taken?"

"One or two. Could you revive them?"

"Yes, but the revived Pokemon would draw attention here and risk exposure of the other Pokemon. I was actually hoping for new DNA samples for my Aerodactyl preserve or if you have the numbers to possibly create a separate breeding program to speed up the species revival." Harry replied.

"I'll think about it... How is the revival going?"

"50 Kabutops, 100 Kabuto, 60 Omastar's, 90 Omanyte, and 70 Aerodactyl's. I estimate that within fifty years those numbers will quadruple. It'll take some time, but they will grow in number." Ash left unsaid that he was magically encouraging breeding. It wasn't anything detrimental... he was just encouraging more of them to mate.

After a short but rough trip, they arrived at a nearby lake.

Ash wasted no time in sending out his Omastar. "I need you to search the water and any underwater caves for other Omanyte and Omastar." Omastar replied in the affirmative and went into the lake.

"And now we wait," Oak said.

"How has your journey through Johto went?" Oak asked.

"I've caught 87 Pokemon and I've won seven badges and a lot of money. My older Pokemon are all insanely strong now and I'm confident that I'll have an extremely easy conference win this time around. I even plan to train on Mount Silver after defeating Clair and increase their power even further."

"How powerful, Ash?" Oak asked in slight concern.

"Most are at level 120. I had them spar and battle with each other, learn and perfect moves, and it has paid off greatly."

"Impressive, Ash. At least when you become a champion and a Master you'll have the strength to hold the positions." Oak replied.

"Yeah, I do want to be undefeatable and die that way," Ash replied.

Omastar returned moments later, and Ash placed his palm on his Omastar and read his Pokemon's mind.

"There's a lot of them, a hundred maybe. They live in an underwater cave accessed by using Dig. Moving them would be near impossible and some might even get left behind." Ash reported, having looked into his Omastar's mind.

"What should I do?" Foster asked.

"Limit the parks size and ensure that security can keep people within designated areas and outside of this one? This area would also have to be fenced in and guarded by trustworthy people, but one person would inevitably get greedy or be desperate for money..." Foster looked annoyed. "You could always announce some delays to construction while gradually making your excavation and work more low-key and let people slowly forget. Claiming that the ground is unstable could buy you several decades. Once the fossils are all excavated, the greater part of your people could leave, but a few could stay behind to live nearby and claim to enjoy the area. That, and getting secret support League to make the area a secret preserve would keep people out, and if they ever trespassed then they can be led away and if anyone ever did try poaching then they can be arrested. The land would need to be owned by a trusted party to ensure that no one could interfere." Ash said, winning Foster and Oak over with his great idea.

"That is a great idea..." Professor Oak said. "No one would want unstable property of questionable value and few would want to risk their lives over nothing."

"I can't stop the parks construction and the university will get a second opinion," Foster said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It took them a few hours, but they eventually discovered that the Pokemon had just gotten lost. The park wouldn't be built. They eventually decided that the League and university would be informed and plans for building would be halted.

* * *

**Blackthorn City.**

Ash calmly entered the Blackthorn City Gym and not seeing anyone, he opted to call out. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come to challenge you for the Rising Badge!"

"I accept!" Clair called out, entering the room. "I've heard a lot about you from my cousin Lance... I hope that I'll be a challenge for you."

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with no substitutions," Kaburagi said. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon."

"Go Kingdra!" Clair said.

"Go Lapras!" Ash said, hoping that she could defeat at least two of Clair's team. Clair started off with Swift, which Lapras halted with Psychic and used Ice Beam, which was dodged with Agility. Ash had Lapras use Sheer Cold on the water and Kingdra and as a precaution use Perish Song, and capitalizing on the shock caused by Perish Song, Ash had Lapras hit Kingdra with Ice Beam...

"Kingdra is unable to battle! Clair send out your next Pokemon." Kaburagi said.

"Go Gyarados! Use Dragonbreath!"

"Use Protect and then Perish Song," Ash ordered, considering that strategy a personal favorite in battles with no substitutions. The Perish Song took effect, with Clair not being able to order Gyarados into the frozen water to avoid it.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Clair send out your next Pokemon!" Kaburagi said, surprised that Clair was losing so badly. Ash from Pallet Town was certainly showing why he was the Champion of the Indigo Conference.

"Go Dragonair!" Clair said, and wasted no time in ordering a Thunder attack that was redirected back at Dragonair, shocking Clair. Ash had Lapras use Perish Song, once more, and then Ice Beam, which was countered by an Ice Beam from Dragonair, which Lapras overwhelmed in a beam struggle. It was still a waiting game and Dragonair fainted soon after due to Perish Song, but was near fainting from damage.

"Dragonair is unable to battle. The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Kaburagi said. Clair and Ash returned their Pokemon.

"Congratulations, Ash," Clair said, walking over to him. "I present you with the Rising Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 8000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account." Clair said, handing him his new badge.

"Thanks," Ash said, using his Occlumency to not blush over his attraction to her. She was wearing tight clothes and they emphasized all the right places.

"The Johto League Silver Conference will begin in six months and you'll need to register in New Bark Town," Clair informed Ash, to which he nodded. "Good luck at the Silver Conference..."

"Thanks!" Ash replied, before leaving.

After registering for the Silver Conference and stocking up on potions and supplies, Ash decided to contact his mother before going out of contact. His mother understood, but she was naturally concerned and only placated by promising regular check-ins.

* * *

**Mount Silver...**

After disposing of some poachers, Ash wasted no time in engaging in battles with some wild Pokemon and healing them afterward... The training was truly incredible though. Ash got his primary Johto Pokemon up to level 100 and his older Pokemon far beyond even that.

Aside from that, Togepi had finally evolved into Togetic when they were taking a break from training. After training her to become accustom to her new flying ability Ash gave her a Shiny Stone and evolved her once more and she became a true powerhouse. Teaching her more moves only helped with that.

Ash had also acquired several baby Pokemon in trade, but they were swapped right back and Ash caught a few Pokemon on Mount Silver and gave them to the trainer as part of the deal. It was far more savory than just breeding and hatching the Pokemon just to neglect them afterward because he honestly didn't have a place for them long term. Pokedex completion was difficult, especially for multiple regions.

Speaking of the Pokedex... Ash had caught an Entei near Mount Silver, a Suicune at a lake near New Bark Town, and had even tried locating a Raikou, but he couldn't find one. That was just from his breaks from training.

Ash _had _just found Ho-Oh, however.

"Hello, Ho-Oh," Ash said, with Ho-Oh having watched him approach. "I'm Ash Ketchum and I dream of being the greatest Pokemon Master... to do that I must catch one of every Pokemon... I challenge you and if I win then I intend to catch you. Or you can just let me catch you and I'll release you immediately afterward." That last remark got Ash an indignant sqawk.

"Battle it is, then," Ash replied. "Go Pikachu!" Ash said and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder. "Use Reflect," Ash said, wanting to cover Pikachu's biggest weaknesses, and Ho-Oh didn't look impressed, so Ash just continued. "Light Screen."

"Now then, Thunderbolt!" Ash called out, but Ho-Oh barely dodged; getting its wing clipped and then using Future Sight. Pikachu used Electro Ball, hitting Ho-Oh and heavily damaging it and allowing Pikachu to get in another Thunderbolt, knocking Ho-Oh unconscious.

On Ash's order, Pikachu dodged the Future Sight attack.

Ash threw a Poke Ball, which dinged twice before Ho-Oh escaped and then mustered up the energy to use Recover. It just wasn't enough. Pikachu was extremely powerful... at level 150 and enhanced with a familiar bond he could do _a lot _of damage, but Ho-Oh was a Legendary.

Seeing Ho-Oh's impaired speed and flying ability, Ash went for the win. "Thunder!" Pikachu quickly gathered up his power and unleashed an immense Thunder attack of awe-inspiring power... Ho-Oh never stood a chance against it. Ho-Oh was left unable to battle in record time.

Ash threw a Poke Ball, and after three dings it registered another successful capture.

"We did it, Pikachu!" Ash said, picking Pikachu up and hugging him. "You did great, buddy!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily, hugging Ash back.

"You beat your first Legendary with minimal effort too!" Ash said. "I'll even get you a bottle of Ketchup as a reward."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said, excited about that.

Ash teleported himself and his Pikachu back to his island where he took Ho-Oh to his Pokemon Center for healing... it would take an hour and Ho-Oh would be on light duty afterward, but he, the male Ho-Oh, was cleared.

"So, Ho-Oh, you were defeated and caught," Ash stated and Ho-Oh glared. "Not trying to be mean, but do you want to stick with me and be trained. Lugia, Mew, Mewtwo, Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, Entei, and Suicune have all agreed. All can attest to the benefits of said training. Ah, here they come."

Once his Legendary Pokemon all arrived, they began persuading Ho-Oh to accept. Mewtwo, Lugia, and the Legendary Birds were all level 100. Mew was level 140. Their testimony helped greatly in convincing Ho-Oh to join them, but it was the chance to grow in power with the trio that it presided over that won him over. Due to Ho-Oh's choice even Raikou would join them soon after without a fight.

Ash's newly owned property, Pokemon Land, had finally been repurposed; the damaged robots were all dismantled and sold for scrap metal and some of the rare earth materials were also sold. It was now fully converted into a festival and tournament grounds and was booked completely solid for several months. Until Ash was ready for phase two of his plans, it would be steadily earning him money to invest in its future. It was estimated to turn profitable in a year, which was mostly due to Ash demanding as much of their losses be recovered with salvage as possible.

The mines on Ketchum Island were now productive, with magic having been used to mine it in Ash's spare time and with some Pokemon helping, and Ash had another source of wealth to invest with. Ash also sold his acquired gold and silver from his travels for just over two million Pokedollars, which was good. It was just sitting in one of his vaults and taking up space.

It was fossil hunting that completed one of Ash's most ambitious goals... he now had his sixth dragon-type... and yet another water-type and a ground-type. Ash had even found the fossils of Anorith and Armaldo, and Lileep and Cradily.

Best of all, Ash had begun acquiring his desired Hoenn Pokemon from breeders and in trade. It was going quite well, Ash acquired a Bagon, Beldum, Aron, Swablu, Ralts, Feebas, Duskull, Snorunt, Torchic, Mudkip, Treeko, and an Absol through trade and buy purchasing from Breeders.

With his old Pokemon trained, his new Pokemon acquired, and the Silver Conference mere days away, Ash was ready and so he left, once more, for Mount Silver.


	10. Chapter 10

**Uploading early today.**

**Review Responses:**

**Yaw613:** Thanks. I try uploading everyday.

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah, I wanted Pikachu to have a big win like in canon to demonstrate his power.

**Lezaroth: **He won't battle Red on Mount Silver, sorry. I always viewed level 100 as a simplified max level, but logically Pokemon as living beings could easily surpass that level. I mean that would be like quantifying humans in levels to measure physical attributes and experience. Yes, in Hoenn Ash will coach May and Max some. Altomare will be ignored, the fossils are redundant at this point and the fossils are for defense if I remember correctly. I am glad that I have your interest and that you like the story.

* * *

Ash was ready for the Silver Conference to finally begin. Ash, Gary, and Ash's new acquaintance Harrison were all registered for the conference... Sadly Ash and Gary still weren't getting along, but Gary was being much nicer.

Ash was extremely pleased with his performance in the pre-screening rounds. None of his Pokemon had fainted and Ash consistently outperformed his opponents and he demonstrated much greater skill as a trainer. His Pokemon were one-hitting other Pokemon; especially his older and much stronger Pokemon. Ash _easily _earned his place in the Top 48.

The Top 48 were requested to get in line for the opening ceremony; that included Ash, so he complied, eager for the _real _competition to begin.

Unfortunately, Ash was in line near Gary.

"So, Ash, I heard that you trained on Mount Silver..." Gary began. "How'd that go?"

"I caught several more powerful Pokemon and leveled up my Pokemon to extreme levels of power." Ash withdrew his Pokedex and showed Gary his numbers for Pokemon caught. "I also caught one of each Pokemon out of sheer boredom. If I defeat the Kanto Elite Four and Champion then I would be a Pokemon Master... at least for Kanto."

"Did you meet Red?" Gary asked, and several trainers looked interested in Ash's answer.

"Nah, the Pokemon were too strong around that area and I had to think about my Pokemon's health and well-being. I'll get to him eventually though and then I'll battle him."

"So you can lose?" Gary asked in amusement.

"If I lose then I'll just train harder and then battle him again."

Fortunately, the competitors began entering the stadium. Harry stopped with the other competitors and waited for Pokemon League President, Charles Goodshow, to make the opening speech.

"Skillful and excited participants, now that the Ho-Oh's sacred flame is watching over all of you, battle with honesty, integrity, and honor so that you will never regret a single moment of your time here." Mr. Goodshow said, thankfully keeping the speech short and sweet.

* * *

Ash's first opponent in the semi-finals was Macy, who had her Fire-types easily swept aside by Gyarados and Gyarados went on to defeat her Electabuzz and Starmie.

Ash's next opponent was Vincent Jackson from New Bark Town. Pikachu defeated his Azumarill, Poliwhirl, and Golduck. Typhlosion defeated Vincent's Meganium with a single Blast Burn and Ash's Meganium easily defeated Vincent's Quagsire and Magneton.

Ash was still pleased to be in the Top 16 and was pleased that Gary had made it too. Gary and Ash would finally be facing each other in the second battle in the Top 16, and Ash intended to deal Gary yet another humiliating defeat. Gary even had the nerve to insult him once more and imply that he would easily win. Ash decided to permanently destroy Gary's delusions of grandeur. And with his mother and Gary's grandfather as witnesses.

Ash would finally get his wish...

"This battle will be a full on six-on-six battle, with both trainers allowed unlimited substitutions and the battle will have no time limit. Furthermore, when one or both trainers lose three Pokemon, there will be a short intermission." The referee said and Harry nodded in understanding.

"Go Nidoqueen!" Gary said.

"Go Gyarados!" Ash said, but Gary opted to stick with Nidoqueen.

Ash started them off by having Gyarados use Attract, which greatly reduced Nidoqueen's threat level and allowed Gyarados to one-hit Nidoqueen with Water Pulse.

"Nidoqueen is unable to battle! Gary send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Electabuzz!" Gary said. "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Protect!" Ash ordered, smirking. "Now, use Roar!"

Electabuzz quickly fled, returning itself and then sending out Magmar in its place. A single Water Pulse and Magmar was defeated. Predictably, Gary sent his Electabuzz back out, but Ash stuck with Gyarados after Gyarados revealed his desire to sweep the team.

Gary ordered Electabuzz to use Thunder, but Gyarados used Protect and then used Hurricane, lifting Electabuzz up into the air and giving Ash a chance to order a Hyper Beam... the Hyper Beam hit Electabuzz and blasted it into a wall; nearly landing in the stands.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Since Gary has lost three Pokemon there will be a short break." The referee said.

After a short break the battle restarted and Gary sent out his Alakazam and Ash stuck with his Gyarados... Gary ordered Alakazam to throw Gyarados, but Ash had Gyarados use Dark Pulse and forced Alakazam to dodge. Ash had Gyarados light the battlefield on fire to pin Alakazam down and then use Dark Pulse, leaving Alakazam unable to battle.

Gary's next attempt involved using his Golem and having it use Explosion... it involved having Golem get close and then defeat itself... Ash let Gary enact his plan. When the dust cleared Golem had fainted and Gyarados was still able to battle and was barely even injured. Gary was infuriated, but Ash just smirked at him and made it much worse for poor Gary.

"Golem is unable to battle! Gary send out your final Pokemon!" The referee said.

Gary was tempted to forfeit, but he refused to give up to Ash Ketchum in his last battle.

"Go Blastoise!" Gary said. "Use Hydro Pump!"

Ash had Gyarados use Thunderbolt, channeling that electricity through Blastoise' attack and inflicting minor damage to Blastoise.

The problem was that it was just minor damage.

"Heat up the battlefield," Ash ordered calmly and Gyarados used Flamethrower on the earth near Blastoise.

Gary, of course, had it cooled down by Blastoise' water attacks and fell for the trap. The problem was that Blastoise was standing in part of the damaged battlefield, a crater, and the water had run down and pooled around it.

Ash ordered Gyarados to use Thunderbolt... on the water and Blastoise was heavily damaged. One more Thunderbolt and Ash had his second win over his poor excuse for a rival.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said.

Ash walked away, pleased to have advanced to the Top 8, and he wasn't even concerned about his battle with Harrison from Littleroot Town.

* * *

The next day, Ash was ready to defeat Harrison.

"This battle will be a full on six-on-six battle, with both trainers allowed unlimited substitutions and the battle will have no time limit. Furthermore, when one or both trainers lose three Pokemon, there will be a short intermission." The referee said and Ash and Harrison both nodded in understanding. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee said. Harrison sent out Kecleon and Ash sent out his Charizard.

"Use Psybeam!" Harrison ordered, starting the battle off. Ash had Charizard charge through it and use Slash... Harrison was shocked at the speed and brutality and shocked even further when his Kecleon was quickly left unable to battle. Ash was just pleased that he didn't have to deal with that annoying invisibility.

"Kecleon is unable to battle. Harrison, send out your next Pokemon." The referee said.

"Go Hypno!" Harrison said. Harrisoned order Hypnosis and Ash ordered Flare Blitz and then had it followed up with Shadow Claw.

"Hypno is unable to battle. Harrison, send out your next Pokemon."

Having no choice, Harrison sent out his Blaziken and then promptly Mega-Evolved it to be safe. With Ash being a former champion and Johto Elite Four stand-in Harrison wasn't taking any chances.

"Use Quick Attack!" Harrison ordered, believing that close combat would be best.

Ash calmly ordered a close range Hyper Beam that blasted Mega Blaziken across the battle field and heavily injured it. Charizard quickly took flight and then used Aerial Ace, defeating the weakened Blaziken and shocking Harrison to his core.

"Mega Blaziken is unable to battle! Since Harrison has lost three Pokemon, we will take a short break."

Lance and the Elite Four recognized that Ash was beyond the average Champion-level.

Most people watching already believed that Ash would win and become champion, some were withholding their judgement, but they were all part of a very small minority.

Ash's Mother, Gary Oak and Professor Oak, and sixteen Gym Leaders were all very impressed and in awe of his skills as a trainer and his powerful Pokemon. Gary Oak decided to become a Professor, knowing that Pallet Town's reputation was in good hands with Ash Ketchum battling. As for Professor Oak... he was reminded of his grandson Blue; Gary's cousin and Samuel's grandson through his eldest son, and of Red and Green. Ash was exceptionally skilled had similar skills to the Fighter, the Trainer, and the Evolver. Samuel knew that it would be Ash who became the strongest of the Pallet Town Pokedex holders... he already was, after all; at least for his age group, and he merely needed to maintain his strength.

Harrison's Sneasel was easily defeated by Charizard and his Miltank and Houndoom were less than nothing against it, and Harrison's Steelix was one-shot with Blast Burn.

"The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" the referee said, to cheers.

After dominating his next opponent Ash was in the Top 2 and he was eager to battle Jon Dickson for the Champion Title, but he had to wait.

"So, Professor," Ash began. "How has the Pokemon Symposium responded to my thesis and my reports?"

"Your knowledge and research on Evolution and Mega Evolution has advanced the latter by decades. You are being promoted to a Professor due to having the equivalent knowledge and having proved yourself far more knowledgeable than Professor Sycamore in Mega Evolution. That and your maturity has convinced the Symposium to promote you. Your carry limit is non-existent now, but you are advised not to go over twenty Pokemon." Oak said. Ash was handed a certificate proving his new rank and his Pokedex would be updated to reflect his status later.

"Thanks Professor," Ash said. "I doubt that I'll need more than that except for when I start hatching eggs and raising Pokemon from them, but I may just do two at a time." Professor Oak nodded, but Gary just joined them.

"Hey, gramps," Gary said. "Can you give me permission to train on Mount Silver?"

"No, Gary, I cannot. Access is restricted to champions and former champions. You should know this." Oak replied in annoyance. Contrary to popular belief he couldn't just give people permission to bypass tradition and law on a whim.

Gary sighed in annoyance. "Fine." Gary noticed the certificate. "You were made a Professor, Ashy-boy?" Gary seemed quite jealous of Ash for that.

"Yes, I was Gare-bear," Ash replied in annoyance. "My thesis and research has gotten me recognized as _the _authority on Mega Evolution. I advanced the knowledge of the subject by decades. It took me several years, but I'm _finally _a Professor."

Gary gave Ash a half-hearted congratulations and left the table.

Gary had never announced his ambitions as a researcher, and he would still pursue his dream, but he felt overshadowed once more by the boy that he bullied and belittled... He regretted that now. They actually had a lot in common and Gary had cost himself a great friend.

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It was finally the day of the Johto League Silver Conference final, and after today either Ash or Jon would be known as one of the best trainers in Kanto. Ash had prepared obsessively for his battle with Jon and was going to leave this conference the big winner. Ash was very confident in his strategy and believed that if circumstances remained in his favor then he could win with four or more Pokemon remaining.

Ash looked confident, but Jon looked nervous. Ash was a former champion with many extremely powerful Pokemon and Jon studying his opponent had only made him more nervous. Ash, however, intended to rely primarily upon his Meganium and Typhlosion, but would battle Jon's Ampharos with another Pokemon.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with unlimited substitutions allowed and shall have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Indigo League, win one million Poke dollars and other prizes, and gain the right to challenge the Johto Elite Four and the reigning Champion, Lance." President Goodshow said.

Goodshow nodded to the referee to start the match.

"Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee said.

Jon sent out his Rapidash and Ash sent out his Blastoise. "Begin!"

Jon decided to test the strength of Ketchum's Blastoise with a Flare Blitz, but Rapidash was one-hit by a Hydro Cannon, which surprised Ash. He thought the attack would be less effective due to the Flare Blitz's heat.

"Rapidash is unable to battle. Jon send out your next Pokemon."

Jon sent out his Ampharos and Ash opted to stick with Blastoise; much to Jon's and the viewers surprise.

Jon had Ampharos use Thunder, but Blastoise used Protect and then an over-powered Dark Pulse... that left Ampharos unable to battle, due to the power and level disparity.

"Ampharos is unable to battle. Jon send out your next Pokemon."

"Go Sunflora!" Jon said.

Ash returned his Blastoise and sent out his Typhlosion, but Jon opted for a strategy involving Giga Drain at first. If not then he could always return Sunflora.

"Blast Burn!" Ash ordered and Typhlosion bathed the entire battlefield in fire, easily defeating Sunflora before the strategy could even be used.

"Ampharos is unable to battle. Since Jon has lost three Pokemon there will be a short break." The referee said.

After a short break the battle was back on and Jon chose Feraligatr and Ash his Meganium, but Jon stuck with Feraligatr and his Ice Beam. That TM was definitely worth the money that he spent!

Jon ordered an Ice Beam, but Ash ordered a Solar Beam... Solar Beam, from a level 101 Pokemon, easily cut through the Ice Beam and struck Feraligatr and sent it flying off the battlefield...

"Feraligatr is unable to battle! Jon send out your next Pokemon."

"Go Skarmory!" Jon said.

Ash returned Meganium and sent Typhlosion back out.

Jon started the battle off with an order to use Spikes, but Ash was only slightly concerned. Typhlosion fired off a quick Flamethrower, clipping the wing of Skarmory and making flying far more difficult. It also allowed Ash's Typhlosion to deal far more damage with his next Flamethrower... but still Skarmory held onto consciousness.

"Blast Burn!" Ash ordered sadly, displeased that his opponent wouldn't forfeit this battle.

"Skarmory is unable to battle! Jon send out your final Pokemon."

With no other option, Jon sent out his Rhyhorn and Ash swapped Typhlosion for Meganium.

According to Ash's research, Jon's Rhyhorn was nearing its Evolution into a Rhydon. Ash wanted the poor guy to get something out of this, so he had Meganium use Poison Powder and then Vine Whip to apply the right pressure to Rhyhorn. Meganium was pulling its punches and it took five minutes, but it worked.

Rhyhorn was soon surrounded by a white light and it began to shift and evolve into a Rhydon.

"Congratulations," Ash said, loudly enough for Jon to hear him.

"Thanks!" Jon said, before ordering Rhydon to use Stone Edge.

"Frenzy Plant," Ash countered calmly.

The Frenzy Plant overwhelmed and even partly undid the Stone Edge and stuck Rhydon, defeating the newly evolved Pokemon.

"Rhydon is unable to battle. The winner of the battle and Silver conference is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said, and the crowd broke out into deafening cheers.

"Ash has done it again!" The announcer said in awe. "For those who don't know, this is Ash's second championship win in a row and second over all! Not only that, but Ash has surpassed his own achievement and none of his Pokemon have fainted during the entire Silver Conference! This is to be expected; in my opinion, of course. He was offered a place in the Johto Elite Four before even participating in the Silver Conference and was a stand-in for the Johto Elite Four, being placed as the fourth and most powerful of the Elite Four, and was even rumored to have trained on Mount Silver for six months before the Silver Conference!"

"Here comes the Johto Champion, Lance, and President Charles Goodshow to present Ash with his trophy and other winnings!" The announcer said as Lance and President Goodshow walked towards Ash.

"Congratulations once more, Ash!" Pres. Goodshow said jovially.

"Yes, congratulations, Ash. You are beginning to tap into your full potential as a trainer and your casual dominance here proves it." Lance said. "I shudder to imagine you at your prime!"

"You won't have to imagine, Lance. I want Kanto and Johto, eventually." Ash replied, to Lance's amusement.

"I, too, am in awe of your skills... and at the mere age of twelve!" Goodshow said. "Congratulations on your winning of the Silver Conference, Ash! I present you with your trophy; proof of your victory, and one million Poke dollars will be transferred into your account. Your winning the Silver Conference grants you the right to challenge Johto's Elite Four and Lance at any time you desire, and you will bear the title Champion of the Silver Conference until next year."

"I wish you luck and many more victories, Ash. I hope that someday you do set your sights on both of these championships..." Lance said, before he and President Goodshow excused themselves. Ash was left wondering why Lance wanted him to defeat him... maybe Lance _wanted _him to succeed him.

While thinking about that, the reporters managed to get to him.

"Congratulations, Ash," one reporter said. "What's next for you?"

"The Hoenn League and hopefully another championship win," Ash replied.

"You were recently promoted to being a Professor and recognized as an expert in Mega Evolution... I think what a lot of people are curious about is Mega Evolution, so what is it?" A reporter asked. "You seemed unsurprised by Bill or Harrison having it and you were able to counter each of them without accessing it for yourself. This confirms knowledge of it, possibly greater knowledge than others to me."

"Mega Evolved Pokemon are actually their own species of Pokemon for one thing. Each Pokemon must hold a specific object, a Mega Stone, which is unique to their species, and the trainer must have a Key Stone. Mega Evolution is very dangerous and requires a strong bond between both trainer and Pokemon, if the bond isn't strong enough then the Pokemon could go berserk and possibly even go on a killing spree. Mega Evolution should be first attempted in a controlled environment and with people on hand to defeat or contain the possibly rampant Pokemon."

"As for my awareness of it, I intensely study myths and legends from around the world. Defeating Mega Evolution? Few if any things are truly invincible and strategy can easily overcome Mega Evolution with the right circumstances. Bill was arrogant and rejoiced in his victory before he had it... he was never going to win that battle; his Pokemon weren't high enough level to defeat my others and having my Gengar use Explosion and Destiny Bond was redundant and largely because I was bored of him. Harrison's Pokemon were largely beaten by overwhelming power."

"All are gifted trainers, however. But to win championships one needs to go well beyond their last known skill levels and their Pokemon's last known levels. Of them all, Bill has Elite Four or Champion potential. Harrison needs to retire his Kecleon and Miltank or level them up extremely high to compensate for them just not being an impressive species of Pokemon, but he won't do that and likely won't ever excel like other trainers."

"What Pokemon are capable of Mega Evolution?"

Ash then listed all known Pokemon that could Mega Evolve, over 45 of them.

Thankfully, the interview ended there and Ash was able to go check on his opponent at the Pokemon Center.

"Is your Rhydon okay?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, he'll be cleared for battle in a day, but he should be out in an hour," Jon replied.

"I'm glad, I thought that Frenzy Plant might have been too much. Speaking of," Ash said, before handing a confused Jon a Protector. "This object is called the Protector it can be used to evolve Rhydon into its final form Rhyperior. In that form it grows greatly in power and at level 69 learns the move Rock Wrecker; a move on par with Hyper Beam, Eruption, Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, and Hydro Cannon."

"Rhydon can evolve even further?" Jon asked in awe.

"Yes, but you might want to get Rhydon accustom to his current form before evolving him again. Or you could evolve him as soon as its safe and have him get used to a new form just once. It's up to you is the point."

"Wow! Thanks!" Jon said gratefully. "Are you gonna challenge the Elite Four and Lance now?"

"Not for years, no. I intend to retire from traveling at age 18 or 21 and then settle down and make all of my challenges. Is it Kanto for you next?"

"Yup," Jon replied. "Hopefully I'll do as well or even better than I did here."

"Well, good luck. I need to get back to Pallet Town and train my Hoenn region Pokemon." Ash said, and after Jon and he said goodbye Ash departed for Pallet Town.

* * *

After briefly and quickly training up his Hoenn Pokemon and planning out his Legendaries training, Ash departed for the Hoenn region. His Pokedex was updated to reflect his new Professor status and his new privilages.

Ash was confident that he would continue his standard of excellence in Hoenn.


	11. Chapter 11

**Review Responses:**

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah, it should be interesting.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks.

**Lezaroth:** Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn cover large parts of the battlefield and are harder too escape. Imagine it as a master martial artist, they have to train too hold back and avoid killing enemies; Ash's Pokemon have that training and discipline. Basically the Pokemon were given stamina training and can also "bench their max weight" with moves more often. I'm trying to paint Ash as diverse; strategic, brute force, ruthless, and also kind.

**buterflypuss:** Thanks. I'm glad you're liking them.

**Dylan-A-Friend:** Thanks.

**SkylerHollow:** You're welcome.

* * *

Ash had arrived in Littleroot Town just ten minutes ago and had wasted no time in flying to Professor Birch's lab on the back of Charizard.

They arrived at the same time as a girl on a bicycle, scaring her in the process.

"Sorry about that," Ash said apologetically, dismounting Charizard with Pikachu in his arms.

"Um, that's okay," the girl said nervously. "What kinda Pokemon is that?"

"A Charizard, the evolution of Charmander; the Kanto region starter for the Fire-type. My Charizard is larger than most Charizard though, being just over eight feet tall. He can seem pretty scary though... especially during battles." May still looked nervous so Ash returned Charizard. "Anyway, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town..."

"I'm May," the now named May said.

"Nice to meet you, May. Are you a beginner trainer?"

"Yeah, I'm coming to get my first Pokemon," May said, but she didn't seem that enthused.

Ash opened the door. "Ladies first, then," Ash said, causing May to giggle at his gentlemanly behavior.

"Ah, Professor Ketchum, and you must be May," Birch's assistant, Joshua said.

"Hello," Ash and May said.

"Professor Birch will be with you shortly Mr. Ketchum. May here needs to pick out her first Pokemon first." Ash nodded in reply.

Professor Birch entered the room and after greeting Ash and May he brought out and introduced the three starter Pokemon. May found the Treecko creepy and she wasn't thrilled with the Mudkip either, but when the Torchic rubbed on her leg affectionately she chose that one.

"Okay, did you bring them?" Birch asked eagerly, catching May's interest.

"Yes," Ash replied, before extracting Mega Stones and Key Stones for an Aggron and Swampert. "These are loans, if you wish to purchase them though it wont be cheap."

"What are those?" May asked.

"Mega Stones and Key Stones; objects that allow Pokemon to undergo a temporary evolution, but require a lot experience and a strong bond between both trainer and Pokemon." May looked annoyed by the fact that she was too inexperienced to use them. "Don't worry, the Mega Stones are for specific Pokemon and these are of absolutely no use to you... unless you have an Aggron and a Swampert."

"I don't," May replied.

"I'll get these back to you as soon as possible, Ash," Birch said, looking forward to running tests with his son Brendan. Ah, speak of the devil.

Brendan had just entered his fathers lab.

"Ah, Ash and May, meet my son Brendan," Birch said with pride.

"Nice to meet you," Ash replied.

"Could you battle Brendan's Swampert and Aggron with Mega Evolution?" Birch asked in interest, wanting to see how his son stacked up against the kid who easily beat Harrison.

"Sure," Ash replied.

"Great!" Birch replied.

Ash, May, Birch and Brendan all went outside... where they saw Aggron eating May's bicycle.

"My bicycle!" May exclaimed angrily.

"It seems that your Aggron is still growing..." Ash commented drily.

"Um, sorry," Brendan said nervously. "About that battle..."

"I'm ready whenever you are," Ash replied.

After placing the Mega Stone on Aggron and Swampert, Brendan had Aggron Mega Evolved and ready for battle. Ash sent out Charizard.

"Whenever your ready," Ash replied.

Brendan started it off with an order to use Ice Beam, which Ash let hit. Charizard heated up his body to dissipate the ice and then used Blast Burn... one-hitting Aggron who was unable to dodge.

Brendan returned Aggron and sent out Swampert, quickly Mega Evolving it, and looking far more confident.

Brendan order Ice Beam, but Ash ordered Charizard into the sky with Brendan having Mega Swampert use Rock Slide. Ash had Charizard destroy it with Dragon Claw and then send them back with Steel Wing while annoying Brendan and Swampert in the process.

Growing bored, Ash ordered Charizard to use Solar Beam and Brendan ordered Mega Swampert to use Protect... Solar Beam pierced through Protect like it wasn't even there and then blasted Mega Swampert into a nearby hill, causing it to devolve into Swampert.

Brendan returned Swampert with a sigh. "I forfeit, you are too strong."

Ash nodded, but was indifferent about Brendan's reasons, and returned his Charizard. May went over and began talking with Brendan

"Well, I'm off to Oldale Town to register for the Hoenn League," Ash said.

Birch nodded. "Well, thanks for loaning us the Mega Stones and Key Stones, I'll return them as soon as possible."

"Alright," Ash replied. "Do you still have my Xtransceiver number?"

"I do. I'll call you so that you can teleport by to pick them up."

"Nice meeting you, Professor Birch, Brendan, and May," Ash said before walking away.

"Wait up! I'm coming with you!" May called out, and Ash stopped while wondering if she had a crush on him or something.

"Alright," Ash replied. "You going to register for the Hoenn League too?"

"I guess," May replied, not seeming really thrilled about it.

"There are also contests, which are kind of like Beauty Pageants and use moves to express that beauty." Ash said, catching May's interest. "I know very little about them though, but they might interest you if you dislike actual battling."

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The short trip to Oldale Town went well and Ash had caught a few more Pokemon to continue working on completing the Hoenn Pokedex. May had tried to capture an Azurill, getting her Torchic injured, but failed. Ash actually found that to be a good thing.

"On the plus side, you didn't take a baby Pokemon from its parents," Ash said. "Training Torchic to keep its eyes open while attacking would greatly improve its fighting ability. That seemed to be the single greatest weakness in its fighting ability." May nodded. "I've given Torchic first aid, but it should still be checked out at a Pokemon Center." Ash handed Torchic to May and had her hold it like a baby.

After a short walk, where they were given directions by a Professor Alden, they both arrived at the Pokemon Center where Torchic was promptly proscribed rest and Ash registered for the Hoenn League.

After contacting Professor Oak and his mother, Ash gave May a tour of the facilities of the Pokemon Center. They even caught up with Professor Alden...

Until Team Magma showed up and Nurse Joy was taken hostage. The three of them were quickly locked in a room, much to Ash's anger and annoyance.

"Huge mistake," Ash commented, his eye twitching. "Go Charizard, use Dragon Claw on the door!"

The door was destroyed in an instant and Ash was in his element. "Nurse Joy, you and May can switch to reserve power. I'll go crush those insects like the insignificant bugs that they are." Joy and May nodded.

Ash was off though, calling Charizard back out and then flying to the ruins with Pikachu.

When they arrived, Ash had Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Team Magma and Charizard use Flamethrower on the pricks.

"Hello, morons," Ash said menacingly. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said before doing just that.

"You'll suffer for this!" A grunt said. Ash broke their leg, causing them to scream.

"Pray that I don't. I have very few people that your team can target, but there are thousands of you and then your families. Who will stay loyal when all that they love is the price for it? I'm more ruthless and merciless than you wastes of life can ever hope to be." In fact, just for that remark Ash crushed the grunts bones in his arms and legs and left him a cripple. Ash hadn't been mentally idle either... he drained important knowledge from their minds.

Once Team Magma was taken into custody by Officer Jenny, both Ash and Alden were able to test out the treasures. It wasn't hard to figure out and it opened up a new room, which they wasted no time in taking pictures of.

"This is a good find, but I feel like we are missing something," Ash said to Alden's confusion. "We basically just discovered an art display in a vault unlocked by actual treasure. I think we should observe the site for a day at minimum, because while value is subjective and in the eye of the beholder this seems suspiciously underwhelming. It seems like a hiding place for something."

"I suppose that you do have a point," Alden conceded.

Sure enough, as the sun rose on a new day, the metal door lit up and soon so too did the entire room... but the metal door slid back further to reveal steps. Naturally, both Professors went down them.

"Interesting, I wonder if it leads to the sea?" Ash asked quietly. A Relicanth, which Ash just barely identified, suddenly jumped from the water before landing back in it. "It's a great find. Congratulations, Professor Alden."

"Thanks..." Alden replied.

"You need to inform the league to protect the Relicanth and their habitat, of course, but other than that you should be able to focus on studying the location. I have a request, but I'd like to explain it first..."

"Ash, you helped me a lot by saving me and pointed out a few small things that I missed at first... I'm willing to hear you out."

"How well versed are you on the legends of Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and the Legendary Titans?"

"I remember them well. The Titans can contain the energy of the Weather Trio and Rayquaza can defeat both Groudon and Kyogre."

"Rayquaza was the first Pokemon to ever Mega Evolve, but I have a suspicion that is an intuitive leap. Team Aqua and Magma, an interest in super-ancient Pokemon, and Kyogre who expands the sea and Groudon the land." Alden's eyes widened. "I'd like to catch a Relicanth in case I need the Legendary Titans to counter what I believe Teams Aqua and Magma's plan to be; unleash those two for their plans. I would also need to catch a Wailord according to the lore."

"Go ahead then," Alden replied.

"I'll communicate with them through Aura and try getting one willing," Ash said, improving Alden's opinion of him even further.

_"Hello, Relicanth,"_ Ash spoke to them.

_"Aura User? Why have you contacted us?"_

_"I'm seeking a Relicanth for my team. There are groups who are seeking to expand the land and sea and I can only free the three Legendary Titans to counter the powers of Groudon and Kyogre with a Relicanth and a Wailord with me."_

_"Will the Relicanth be returned after the titans are yours?"_

_"Yes, it will," Ash replied._

_"Then there is a Relicanth that wishes to come with you... he will surface momentarily. He desires to grow much stronger to lead and protect us."_

_"He will grow in strength, of that I am certain."_

The conversation ended and a Relicanth surfaced and allowed himself to be caught. It was an impressive catch, level 60 and of a great size.

"Thank you, Professor Alden. I wish you luck on your work here, but I need to get going." After saying their goodbyes Ash met back up with May and they continued on to Petalburg City.

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Ash and May had just arrived at Petalburg City, with only Ash feeling more accomplished... he caught three more Pokemon to evolve and he had already evolved the Surskit and the Corphish into a Masquerain and a Crawdaunt. Ash was making great progress on completing the Hoenn Pokedex, but he was annoying May with his activities.

"May, I have to catch one of each Pokemon to become a Pokemon Master and that means training some until they evolve. It's extremely difficult work and if you can't hand the pace that I'm traveling at then you are free to travel without me. We would have to stop traveling together eventually anyway. I train for months in complete solitude before league conferences, and I am prone to taking life threatening risks to catch some Pokemon. Actually, I almost die a lot." That last bit was a lie, Ash was immortal.

"But if we quit traveling together I won't get to eat your cooking!" May argued, to Ash's great amusement.

"I'm sure that you can cook, May. Trainers have to undergo a series of tests for their ability to survive and cooking is a part of that." Ash said.

"I didn't get a good grade though," May said, causing Ash to take pity on her.

"Okay, May. We can travel together, but being a Pokemon Master is my dream and I started learning about Pokemon at age six. I'm not going to travel back through Hoenn just to catch Pokemon and all with outdated information." Ash said, and May nodded. "Anyway, onto Petalburg Gym and my first Gym Badge!"

Predictably, May made an excuse and went away. Ash already knew that she was Norman's daughter, but he enjoyed messing with her. Still, Ash wasted no time in going to the Petalburg Gym.

"Hello? I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come for a Gym Battle!" No one came so Ash was very annoyed. "Is anyone here?"

"Can you please keep it down? I'm right in the middle of watching a video of the Silver Conference!" A boy, who Ash guessed was Max said. Max noticed who he was talking too. "Wow! It's really you! Ash Ketchum the winner of the Silver Conference! And that's your Pikachu!" Max said, hugging Pikachu. "You dominated Harrison and all of your opponents!"

"Yes, I tend to do that," Ash replied in amusement. "I was also a stand-in as the fourth of the Johto Elite Four while Lance looked for a permanent replacement, but no one ever got to me."

"Cool!" Max replied. "What Pokemon did you use?"

"Earth and Rock-types, with an overall earth theme. Pokemon like Golem, Steelix, Tyranitar, Rhyperior, Aerodactyl, Gligar, and Mamoswine. Enough of them had a similar weakness and were predictable for a challenger, but I could still beat my opponents."

By this time the Gym Leader, Norman, had arrived.

"Hi, I've come for a Gym Battle for the Balance Badge," Ash said.

"I accept, how many badges have you won?"

"None in Hoenn yet, but I'm hoping to win here to cut down on travel time," Ash replied and Norman nodded in understanding.

"It'll be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with no substitutions." Norman said.

Ash nodded in agreement and took his place on the battlefield. The referee repeated Norman's words and began the battle.

"Go Slakoth!" Norman said.

"Go Charizard!" Ash said, causing Max to fanboy.

Charizard made extremely quick work of Norman's three Pokemon despite not having a type advantage. Norman was shocked when each of his Pokemon were one-hit.

Ash and Norman returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battlefield.

"I present you with the Balance Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 1000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account." Norman said.

"Thanks." Ash replied.

"Um, wow," May said in shock, having snuck in and witnessed her fathers defeat.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, May," Ash commented in amusement.

"What'd you mean?" Max asked.

"May didn't tell me that she was Norman's daughter, but Professor Birch had already told me on the phone." May blushed. "I let her have her secret though. Plus it was quite amusing for me."

After that Ash was invited to have lunch with them, which Ash accepted. Ash was amused with Max being unimpressed by May's choice of starter, but he stated that Torchic can evolve into a powerful Fire and fighting-type Pokemon. Ash revealed the Pokemon that he was training and Max was awed by his new Professor status and the fact that he had learned _directly _from Professor Samuel Oak and was already accomplished and well-known. It was during lunch that Max began hinting that he wanted to travel and he eventually asked outright and his parents okayed it after asking Ash if it would be any trouble... Ash said that it wouldn't be. Ash and May were given badge cases and Max was given a PokeNav before departing.

**Line break-remove text and replace.**

The trip to Rustboro City was _tolerable_... there weren't a lot of distractions, at least. The only real trouble during the trip was encountering a poacher named Rico, but Ash very easily defeated him, freed captured Ekans and Koffing, and managed to rescue a Tyranitar and Fearow too. Rico was turned over to Officer Jenny, Ash compelled Rico to betray his clients names, and Officer Jenny would now be able to arrest all of Rico's clients. Ash had even exposed a scam artist named Anthony and forced him to return his ill-gotten prize money.

Ash caught a Wingull and Pelipper on route 105 and a Silcoon, Cascoon, Taillow, Shroomish, and Slakoth in Petalburg Forest. Wingull, Pelipper, and Taillow were released back into the wild, but Silcoon, Cascoon, Shroomish, and Slakoth were all evolved with the former three agreeing to be released back into the wild.

While training for his second Gym Battle, Ash's Beldum evolved into Metang, his Ralts evolved into a Kirlia, Treecko evolved into Grovyle, Mudkip evolved into Marshtomp, and Ash's Torchic evolved into Combusken.

All Pokemon were now at least level 25.

After helping out at the nearby Trainer School, Ash was _finally _going to battle Roxanne.

"Go Geodude!" Roxanne said.

"Go Grovyle!" Ash said, always seeking an advantage.

Ash started things off with an order to use Quick-Blade; a combination of Quick Attack and Leaf Blade.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Roxanne send out your final Pokemon!" The referee said, to the shock of both Roxanne and the referee.

Roxanne returned her Geodude and sent out her Nosepass, but that was the real threat and Ash had his Grovyle use Quick-Blade once more to defeat her second and final Pokemon.

"Nosepass is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said. Ash and Roxanne returned their Pokemon and Roxanne walked over to Ash.

"That was quick, but your Grovyle is extremely powerful and that was a very creative use of Quick Attack." Roxanne said. "I see why you're a two time champion though!" She added.

"Thanks, it took a couple days to perfect but it paid off in the end." Ash replied.

"I present you with the Stone Badge; proof of your victory over me. Also, 2000 Poke dollars has been transferred into your account." Roxanne said, before handing Ash his new Stone Badge.

Before leaving Rustboro City, Ash flew to route 116 to catch some more Pokemon... Ash caught a Nincada, Skitty, and a Whismur.

Despite the happiness of having his second gym badge, it was quickly ruined by Team Aqua showing up and causing trouble. Ash apprehended the spy and drained him of essential knowledge and was planning to begin purging both teams soon... he just needed to wait until May and Max were both asleep.

Ash would later destroy several safe houses, a few bases, steal hundreds of millions in resources, kill hundreds of members, and confirm Team Aqua's goal of using Kyogre to expand the sea. Ash found their goal moronic and extremely dangerous. As such, they had to be dealt with... permanently.

It was while on the way to Dewford Island that Ash caught a Wailmer, and soon after it gained a little more experience and then evolved into a Wailord.

After researching Brawly Ash had decided to train all of his Pokemon up to level 30.

During this training, Bagon evolved into a Shelgon, Kirlia evolved into a Gardevoir, Whismur evolved into a Loudred, and Nincada evolved into Ninjask and Shedinja appeared in a previously empty Poke Ball. Ash had made some great progress though and he leveled all of his Pokemon up to level 30.

Now Ash just needed to win his third badge...


	12. Chapter 12

**I won't have time in the morning so I'm posting this now.**

**Review Responses:**

**Lezaroth: **For the purposes of my story the ability to have Pokemon is a difference between regional laws and if they're classified as pets owned by parents/siblings. I don't want too spoil the story, but Max will show some progress and Ash will help them some. Butler used a Groudon fossil if I remember correctly and that won't be happening in this story. Ash is pretty much just focused on ending the threat and just assumes insanity or questionable intellect/reasoning ability. Secret Power won't be a thing, Ash can make better bases without it. I'm aware of Mirage Island, but I have no plans too use it.

**John50:** No, he will not. It doesn't appeal to me, so I have trouble writing such scenes. Ash won't fight the fake Groudon. I'm glad that you like my pacing, I'm not one for filler scenes or weak characters.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks.

**SkylerHollow:** It won't change much or at all, Ash is pretty set in his ways and has a clear idea of what he wants and how to achieve it.

**longwoda:** I'm glad you like my story despite that flaw.

**Dylan-A-Friend:** Thank you.

* * *

When Ash arrived at Dewford Town he wasted no time in going to the local Gym, only getting some sleep and all of his Pokemon looked over and healed before seeking to win his next Gym Badge.

Imagine his surprise when Brawly refused to battle, preferring to surf instead.

"Can Hoenn Gym Leaders do that?!" Ash asked.

"Yes..." Max replied.

"But, Broly, it'll only take me five minutes to beat you!"

"It's Brawly!"

"Sorry, Broccoli!" Ash replied, amusing May and Max.

"How about this... we have an official battle, but if it takes longer than five minutes then I automatically lose?"

"Fine!" Brawly said in annoyance.

Both trainers took their places and the referee spoke. "This'll be a two-on-two Pokemon battle with a five minute time limit. The first trainer to lose two Pokemon loses the battle or if five minutes elapse then Ash Ketchum automatically loses. Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee ordered.

"Go Machop!"

"Go Gardevoir!"

Gardevoir started it and ended with Psychic; easily blasting Machop into a wall, despite its futile attempts to dodge.

"Machop is unable to battle! Brawly send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said.

"Go Makuhita!" Brawly said, though he wasn't confident of his chances of winning.

Makuhita was quickly restrained and then subjected to Confusion and Moonblast, quickly defeating it and causing Brawly to sigh in annoyance. Brawly hated it when people used type advantages, it made for a very boring battle. Brawly stepped forward and unenthusiastically presented Ash with the Knuckle Badge and informed him that 3000 Poke dollars would be transferred into his account.

Ash decided to leave, sensing how unpopular he was here now. Brawly didn't last more than two minutes.

After wasting hours on a beach, Ash, May, and Max _finally _went into Granite Cave to search for stuff like Evolution Stones and other valuable objects.

It went extremely well. May found pearls and an Everstone. Max found a few Star Pieces, an Everstone, a few gems, Evolution Stones, and a Steelixite and Aggronite and the accompanying Key Stones.

"Do you want to buy them?" Max ashed in regards to the Mega Evolution objects.

"No, I already have several, but I will make sure that whoever you do sale them to pays a fair price. Those two objects are worth about 100,000 Poke dollars each. If you save and put all that into an interest bearing account and don't touch it until you retire you'll be extremely wealthy. You could contact your parents and have them handle that, but I would suggest that if you sale the Star Pieces you put the money from that into a separate interest bearing account for when you are a trainer." Max nodded, that sounded very smart.

"Wouldn't he be unable to spend it though?" May asked.

"That's the point, he builds up wealth in two accounts and prepares several decades ahead in his life. You should consider doing the same; you won't be young forever and eventually you may be too old to travel or simply just wish to settle down or retire. Even if Max loses every battle that he engages in he would still be a millionaire by age thirty and all due to wise financial management. Setting aside a set amount of wealth into an account would help secure your future. I'm twelve years old and a billionaire... but I use more ruthless business tactics. I own a casino and hotel, and a festival ground." To reinforce his point, Ash showed them the numbers in his bank account: 9,576,032 Poke dollars.

"That's just from battling and money from found items, and I haven't even sold any Mega Stones." Ash said.

That seemed to settle the matter for Max and May and they began thinking. Both wanted to be wealthy and wanted to have a happy future and that meant saving up money. Granted, May just wanted to maintain her current lifestyle and be able to eat and wear whatever she wanted, but she was still saving up money.

With Max and May focused on their own thoughts, Ash began to reflect on his loot. Ash had found a few Steelixite and Aggronite, multiple Alakazite, Sablenite, Mawilite, Everstones, and several Key Stones.

It was the Mega Stones that caught Ash's attention though... Ash suspected that long ago this was the site of a massacre that ended with massive numbers of deceased Pokemon, but that some had survived and populated the area with their descendants. It was the lack of Mega Stones for Fire-type Pokemon that caused Ash to doubt his theory. Ash was still very impressed though and had discreetly used his magic to excavate the Mega Stones and then undo any damage caused by his actions.

Ash, May, and Max were just leaving when Ash saw another person in the cave.

"Hello!" Ash called out politely. The person turned and faced Ash, it was Steven Stone; the Champion of the Hoenn region, and Ash was surprised that he actually met another champion.

"Hello," Steven returned. "You're Ash Ketchum, aren't you?"

"I am," Ash confirmed.

"I'm Steven Stone, the Hoenn Champion. I was very impressed with your performance in the Indigo and Silver Conferences."

"Thanks," Ash replied.

"I'm guessing that you had the same idea as myself and are looking for Mega Stones here."

"Yeah, I found several," Ash replied. "Ah, where are my manners. This is May and Max," Ash said gesturing to each of them as he said their names.

"Nice to meet you all," Steven said.

"Say, was there a battle here with mass Pokemon casualties? They would have all been Steel, Ghost, Psychic, and Fire if my theory is correct." Ash asked.

"Not that I know of. If there was, then it wasn't documented in any history books that I've read. Why do you ask?" Steven asked, but Steven already suspected why he had asked.

"With the Mega Stones that I found, my gut tells me that there was one and that the Pokemon here are all descended from surviving Pokemon who's trainers all died during the battle. The only thing causing doubt for me is the lack of Mega Stones from Fire-type Pokemon, but that could be due to the side with Fire-types massacring the other side and recovering any Mega Stones from fallen Pokemon on their side." Ash replied. "I've found Steelixite, Aggronite, multiple Alakazite, Sablenite, and Mawilite."

"It's a great theory and will require investigation. Would you be interested in trading away the Steelixite and Aggronite?"

"Max here found the same Mega Stones and may be interested in selling," Ash said.

After a few minutes of discussion and a call to Norman and Caroline, it was decided that Steven would transfer the money into Norman's account and that he would set Max up an account and transfer the money into it and then allow Max to be able to deposit money into it and the other account in Max's name.

"I would suggest only using them on Pokemon that you're close to and have a bond with. If your Aggron and Steelix have been with you for years, then you should be fine." Steven nodded, he and his Pokemon met both criteria.

"Would you like to have a Pokemon battle?" Steven asked. "I can test out these stones and you'll be on hand to defeat them if necessary." Steven was sure that Ash's Charizard could defeat his Aggron, he didn't have his Steelix with him though, and would need to make other arrangements for him.

"I would need to retrieve my higher leveled Pokemon. My Hoenn team is new and could likely die." Ash said. Ash also wanted to get the ideal Pokemon to ensure victory over a champion. Steven thankfully nodded in agreement. "If you can meet me outside, I'll teleport to my private island and retrieve my older Pokemon."

"Happily. I'm eager to see how you fare against me." Steven said.

"As am I. See you there." Ash said, before teleporting away.

When Ash arrived, he retrieved his Magmortar, Houndoom, Ninetails, Arcanine, Typhlosion, Gengar, and Lapras. That done, he teleported to outside Granite Cave.

Ash thankfully didn't have to wait long for Steven, May, and Max and once Steven was outside, he led them to an isolated area, perfect for battles or training.

"So, is five-on-five okay?" Steven asked. "My Aron isn't quite ready to go against Pokemon of that power."

"That's fine," Ash replied. Ash was hoping for a six-on-six, but Ash was still looking forward to the battle. Ash was confident that he could win with type advantages and strategy. "Before we start, you should know that when your Aggron Mega Evolves it becomes a pure Steel-type and gains a unique ability called Filter that powers down any super-effective moves by 25%. Your Metagross, however, gains an ability called Tough Claws which boosts the power of moves that make physical contact by 30%." Ash said, and Steven nodded, appreciating that useful bit of information.

Ash called out Charizard and Steven sent out his Aggron.

Steven was ready to test out his Aggron's new Mega Evolution now. "Aggron! Mega-Evolve!" All watched watched as power emitted from Steven's Mega Stone and Aggron and as light enveloped Aggron as he evolved into his Mega-Evolved form. Mega Aggron was under control too, and had no difficulty.

Ash gestured to Steven to start them off and Steven ordered a Hyper Beam, which Ash had Charizard meet with Dragon Claw and respond with a Fire Blast that was partly dispersed by Mega Aggron's Dragon Claw and forced Charizard to follow it up with a Flamethrower that dealt far more damage.

"Charizard! Draco Meteor!"

"Use Protect!" Steven ordered, taking the bait.

Ash followed it up with Blast Burn, and now Mega Aggron was being attacked from above and below and its Protect was quickly decimated. Mega Aggron was badly damaged from that attack, but was still standing. _That Filter ability was a real nuisance,_ Ash mused. Ash had an advantage in power, levels, and type, but he needed to end this while Charizard still had a chance to be used later.

Mega Aggron used Thunder, but Charizard dodged it and used another Blast Burn, finally defeating Mega Aggron. Steven returned his Aggron and Ash did the same with his Charizard. "Your Charizard is at a very high level, Ash, and very well trained." Steven was thoughtful before selecting his next Pokemon, a Lucario.

"Nice. Go Gengar." Ash said, getting a raised eyebrow from Steven. "Mean Look!" Ash ordered and Steven didn't even try recalling Lucario, still feeling confident. Lucario would end up being the easiest Pokemon to beat. "Hypnosis!"

"Dodge and use Extreme Speed."

"Meet it with Shadow Punch!" Ash said. Ash watched them clash and then hastily ordered Gengar to use Hypnosis, which connected and left Lucario asleep and disabled Extreme Speed. "Use Nightmare and then Dream Eater... Throw in Toxic too." Gengar obeyed and Ash ordered it to use Hex.

They repeated this combo and soon Lucario was unable to battle.

"You're a very skilled trainer, Ash. How come you haven't challenged the Kanto or Johto Elite Four?" Steven asked, and returned his defeated Lucario. Ash returned his Gengar too.

"I'm traveling to train, gain experience, and other useful Pokemon, skills, and resources. I'll be challenging them once I'm an adult and ready to settle down." Ash replied.

"I did something similar, but traveled far less and focused only on catching a select few Pokemon." Steven said in approval. "You return your Pokemon once they win and don't give me a chance to deploy one that could trap it, clever and cautious... Go Magnezone!"

After debating with himself for a moment, he chose Houndoom over Magmortar, and suspected that one of Magnezone's moves was Mirror Coat.

Steven realized that Ash rightfully suspected that and opted to Paralyze Houndoom and then beat it into submission and finally beat one of Ash's Pokemon. If Ash had any pride and or ego, he kept both in check and he wasn't taking any chances against a champion, which was both flattering and very infuriating in equal measure. Steven was looking pretty lame right now and he had to make a strong showing despite Ash's great team. That in mind, Steven ordered a Thunder Wave and had it quickly followed by a Zap Cannon that inflicted damage on Houndoom. This battle was going well and Houndoom would soon be defeated, and then Ash ordered a Flamethrower attack and Steven ordered Mirror Coat, while hoping that Houndoom didn't have the Flash Fire ability. It did. Steven ordered more Zap Cannon's and Thunder's be used to defeat Houndoom, and his Magnezone succeeded, thankfully without Magnezone fainting or Houndoom taking advantage of Flash Fire.

Ash and Steven returned their Pokemon, with Steven imitating Ash's cautious behavior.

"Go Lapras!" Ash said, forcing Steven to send his Magnezone back out, knowing that it was the best albeit risky choice. "Sing!" Ash said, causing Steven to curse as his Magnezone wasn't fast enough to counter it. "Dream Eater!"

Steven returned his defeated Magnezone minutes later. "You are going to be near invincible once you become a champion and have greater skill, experience, and knowledge." Steven said, before sending out his Skarmory and having it use Toxic, poisoning Lapras.

Ash smirked and had Lapras use Rain Dance, healing Lapras of the poison. Steven calmly returned his Pokemon and Ash did the same with Lapras.

Ash was getting bored and sent out his Magmortar to take out some more of Steven's Pokemon or just weaken them. Steven was wondering how he could win without weakening his Metagross and leaving it as easy prey for Ash's Charizard. Steven still had a chance of winning but would have to use Skarmory and Scizor to take out Ash's Pokemon, which were all trained to higher levels then his own. Steven would have to train his Pokemon harder after this, this was quite humiliating for him. "Go Scizor! Use Bullet Punch!"

"Fire Spin!" Ash ordered, briefly catching Scizor before it retreated on Steven's order. Still, it was very close. Scizor was moments away from striking Magmortar. "Fire Blast!" Ash ordered, with Magmortar damaging Scizor, and Scizor was left unable to battle.

"I'm normally not one for insults, but you need to train less and get a girlfriend," Steven said, causing Ash to laugh. "I've had my Pokemon for over eight years and your Pokemon already surpass them in raw power. You have entirely too much free time to use for training."

"I'm only twelve, first of all. I just have a great training schedule and adhere to it. I trained on Mount Silver for months and they grew much stronger. I'm not abusing them, but I do start them small and continually work them up from there. I'm currently looking for hook-ups, but not relationships. I'd have to meet a really amazing girl to reconsider." Ash replied, while waiting for Steven to send out his Skarmory.

Steven sent out his Skarmory and Ash returned Magmortar and sent his Charizard back out. Ash's intention was clear... he wanted his Charizard to beat over half of Steven's team.

With Charizards superior power, levels, and speed, all it took was a single Flare Blitz to knock Steven's Skarmory out of the sky... one Flamethrower and Skarmory was unable to battle. Steven, Max, and May were all thoroughly awed.

Steven sent out and Mega-Evolved his Metagross, but was surprised when Ash didn't Mega-Evolve his Charizard... before realizing that Ash wanted him to prove that he was strong enough to handle it.

"Meteor Mash!"

"Flare Blitz!" Ash ordered calmly, already knowing how it would end...

Ash was proven correct when Mega Metagross was overpowered, pushed back and defeated by a single attack... shocking Steven to his core.

"H-how?" Steven asked. Steven's strongest Pokemon was just defeated with a single attack!

"My Charizard is my strongest non-Legendary Pokemon... and believe me when I say that means a lot. It's at a much higher level than your Mega Metagross." Ash said. "You used a move of weaker power against a Pokemon of a higher level using a stronger move and that had a type advantage."

Steven returned his defeated Metagross. "I need to get my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center," Steven said urgently.

"As do I," Ash said, returning his Charizard. "I'll join you."

"I guess you've already beaten the Gym Leader Brawly?" Steven asked.

"Yeah. I used my Gardevoir and swept his team." Ash replied, to Steven's surprise.

"Nice. I guess it's Mauville City for you next."

"Yeah. Did you know that Scizor and Lucario can Mega Evolve too?" Ash asked.

"I did not, but now I'll keep an eye out for the stones for them."

The rest of the walk was silent, but they soon arrived at the Pokemon Center and had their Pokemon healed.

* * *

Life since his defeat of Steven had continued to be great for Ash Ketchum. He discovered a Team Aqua and Magma operation and slew everyone involved, and took possession of the Red and Blue Orbs. Apart from training Ash had been battling trainers, training, and giving May pointers like combining moves such as Silver Wind and String Shot and suggesting that she experiment.

While training Aron evolved into Lairon, Swablu evolved into Altaria, and Vibrava evolved into Flygon.

Yet Ash still had free time and flew to route 110 to catch more Pokemon... Ash caught an Electrike, Plusle, Minun, and a Swalot. With more time to spare, Ash wiped out several more Team Aqua and Magma bases.

Ash ended up helping May to get over her first loss as a Coordinator... He also ended up driving back a Team Magma attack at the Slateport City Oceanic Museum and he would have killed all of them but there were too many witnesses. Thankfully, Team Magma didn't get the rock that they wanted.

After sweeping the team of Wattson, Ash, May, and Max all set off for Fallarbor Town with Ash still catching, training, and evolving Pokemon. Ash caught a Trapinch, Cacnea, Cacturne, Barboach, but the Barboach was quickly evolved into a Whiscash.

After defeating Wattson it was back to training for Ash and that meant getting all of his Pokemon to level 40. While training Ash's Vigoroth evolved into a Slaking, Loudred evolved into a Exploud, Grovyle evolved into a Sceptile, Marshtomp evolved into a Swampert, Combusken evolved into a Blaziken, and his Duskull into a Dusclops.

It was in the Mirage Kingdom that pushed Ash past his mental limit... Someone tried stealing his Togekiss, a Pokemon that Ash had raised from an egg and loved greatly. After crushing Hansen's Pokemon so fast that Hansen could barely blink Hansen himself was taken prisoner... which angered the army who believed his lies that it was an attack by outsiders. Ash called his Legendary Pokemon and broke the army, sparing the lives of both people and Pokemon, and he accepted the surrender of the Royal Family.

"So, an explanation is in order, I believe," Ash said to a fearful King, Queen, and Princess Sara. "I wasn't the attacker. Hansen lured other trainers with a Togepi to the Mirage Kingdom with the intention of taking one or a Pokemon from the evolutionary line to make himself the new king. His mistake was attempting to steal the Togekiss of a two time champion who is working on collecting one of every Pokemon. He lied to the army and forced me to defend myself with my Legendary Pokemon."

Some of the other trainers spoke up and confirmed that for the royals.

"So you will release us and allow us to regain our throne?" The King asked.

"After I execute Hansen, yes. I'm afraid that I'll have to insist upon that for his severe crimes." Ash said, to the disapproval of most. "Hansen nearly caused the eradication of the Mirage Kingdom... he could have angered the Hoenn, Johto, Kanto, and Sinnoh regions. Besides, the royals surrendered, making me the king and giving me the authority to do just that." The royals looked angry about that.

"Yours armies are beaten, and your soldiers, supporters, and yourself are all in chains. It _will _be done. This all happened due to your ignorance, incompetence, and your blind trust, so I will ensure that this never happens again. Hansen's death will serve as both a harsh warning and a lesson to others. I know that your kingdom has suffered too and will need to be rebuilt; something that I will even contribute too, but this must to be done."

Ash later beheaded Hansen personally and then left his body in the cells to be cleaned up later, and after releasing the captured soldiers, people, and royals Ash departed the Mirage Kingdom; sadly leaving his Togekiss to protect the Togepi Paradise upon her request.

"I understand that you want to stay and protect them, Togekiss... but I'll miss you," Ash said sadly, being unashamed of his tears. "I used to wonder why you stuck with me and why you weren't weakened by my presence, but then I realized that despite my many, _many _flaws that I was still ultimately a good albeit quite harsh person. I wasn't condemned for punishing evil with death and I do actually feel remorse for having to purge evil from this world. I've given thousands a chance to redeem themselves, and some have, but most required death to remove their threat. I'll miss you Togekiss and you'll always have a home with me and on my island if you ever want it again."

Togekiss was sad too, but glad that her daddy would be okay and was even willing to have her back. She had to do this though. The Togepi needed her help. Her daddy was a good person and he was extremely loving, but there was a small taint within his heart that had continued to lessen and eventually it would be completely gone. Togekiss would come back eventually, but only after the Togepi no longer needed her.

Togekiss looked forward to seeing her father again.

Ash, May, and Max continued traveling, but with May and Max having a different opinion of Ash. They too were shocked by Ash's willingness to kill his enemies, but it was the knowledge that Togekiss had stayed with him that caused them to also stay. That and Hansen had endangered their lives too. They weren't at all angry about Hansen's death.

May soon caught a very playful Skitty after helping to nurse it back to health and she would later win her first ribbon. Ash was annoyed when her effeminate allegedly male rival insulted and even challenged him, and Ash used his Charizard to humiliate the weak idiot and put his Pokemon in the Pokemon Center overnight. Ash derided Drew as being mediocre in actual battles; teaching the arrogant prick a valuable lesson. Drew would later find out that Ash was a two-time conference champion and would feel even more stupid. May and Ash had the last laugh though... May won her first ribbon.

Ash ended up defeating teams of Team Aqua and Magma who were seeking a meteorite for some stupid experiment. His Charizard and Pikachu were more than enough to beat those idiots... they were all beaten so easily that it didn't even merit a description. Officer Jenny quickly arrived and took them into custody, but Ash expanded his knowledge of Team Aqua and Magma by draining knowledge from their minds... he now had many more targets.

Ash later slew everyone in police custody who was infected by Team Aqua and Magma's ideology... both ideologies were an extinction-level threat and had to be purged completely.

Ash would soon have his eight badges and be able to focus on saving the world from both teams... the Heat Badge was next.


	13. Chapter 13

**Review Responses:**

**buterflypuss:** Thanks.

**John50:** Romance would distract from the journey and unless he traveled with Cynthia, which is extremely difficult, then it would be impossible.

**Chocoholic202: **The story is pre-written and I'm simply publishing them.

**Lezaroth:** Glad you liked it, I wanted too give another perspective on Ash and a Pokemon that senses evil was a great way to do that. Yeah, I despise Anime Brawly because of that lack of professionalism. You'll get too see Ash's behavior first in this chapter. Ash can teleport, apparate, and make Portkey's... he can travel far in mere days if he wanted. The Draconids aren't relevant to my stories plot, but exist unmentioned. Ash does have Salamancite, he has the largest collection of Mega Stones in the world.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yes, Ash will be teaching them a lot. The royals are idealists and would just put him in prison, and hope for redemption or that he wouldn't escape. May and Max have been exposed to Ash's opinions and are starting too see the wisdom in them. Having 50+ levels on them helped and Ash had studied Steven Stone. Status effecting moves, overwhelming power, Perish Song, Destiny Bond, and strategy in general can help beat Mega's. I'm glad you like my story and its direction though.

**Yaw613:** Thanks.

* * *

After repairing Flannery's battlefield and even showing her a standard method and shortcut to speed it up by melting rock; which was used by many Fire-type Gym Leaders, Ash also had to find the Heat Badges for her and then make sure that she knew how to create more of them... which caused her grandfather, Mr. Moore, to reveal himself and help her out with that.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle between Ash Ketchum and the new gym leader Flannery, with substitutions allowed only for the challenger," Flannery's grandfather, Mr. Moore, said. "Trainers, send out your first Pokemon."

"Grandpa! Do you have to say that I'm new?" Flannery complained.

"No "Grandpa" stuff out here, Flannery. You'll address me as Judge."

"Go Mag!" Flannery said, sending out her Slugma.

"Go Swampert!" Ash said.

Flannery started things up with an order to use Flamethower, it was met and overpowered by Hydro Pump and then followed up with Muddy Water that left Slugma unable to battle.

"Mag is unable to battle. Flannery send out your next Pokemon." Mr. Moore said.

"Go Meg! Use Yawn!" Flannery ordered, to Ash's annoyance.

"Hydro Pump," Ash ordered with visible annoyance. Flannery tried having her Slugma dodge, but the Hydro Pump followed it at high speed. Still, Ash had lost a Pokemon to Sleep status and would have to wake it up.

"Meg is unable to battle! Flannery send out your next Pokemon." Mr. Moore said.

"Go Torkoal! Use Overheat!"

"Wake up, Swampert!" Ash bellowed, putting everything but his magic into the act. It and the Overheat allowed him to succeed. "Now... Hydro Pump!"

"Use Overheat!" Flannery said, and the two moves met and began struggling for dominance... The fire technique was evaporating the water and the water was also combating the heat, it was tedious and Ash opted to have Swampert cancel the Hydro Pump, shield against the weakened Overheat with Protect and then counter attack with Hydro Pump, striking Torkoal and knocking it backwards...

"Torkoal is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Mr. Moore said.

Flannery walked over to Ash. "Here is the Heat Badge, proof of your victory over the Lavaridge Town Gym. 5000 Poke dollars will also be transferred into your account."

"Thanks, Flannery," Ash said politely.

With his fifth badge won, Ash was back to training. He needed all of his Pokemon at level 45 to have another advantage over the Pokemon of Winona.

During this training Ash's Metang evolved into a Metagross, Lairon evolved into a Aggron, and his Snorunt evolved into a Glalie.

After catching a Torkoal in the Valley of Steel, Ash teleported himself, May, and Max to Mauville after May expressed an interest in the contest being held there. While May was preparing for that, Ash was catching a Volbeat, Illumise, and Kecleon, and then releasing them back into the wild, and working on Hoenn Pokedex completion... Ash acquired a Seviper, Clamperl, Gorebyss, Huntail, Luvdisc, and a Medicham, and then traded some away for a Spoink, Grumpig, Hariyama, Shuppet, and had even went to where May had tried to catch an Azurill and then bribed it with berries in exchange for being caught and then released. It worked and Ash honored the agreement and even escorted Azurill back to its parents.

May would later win her second ribbon and catch herself a Bulbasaur.

Ash was forced to defeat a Whiscash named Nero who was a menace and tried stealing his badge case.

With Team Aqua and Magma still continuing their plans, Ash was forced to step up his own.

Regice, Regirock, and Registeel were all easily beaten by Ash's Charizard... Regirock merely required a Solar Beam to be defeated.

* * *

Ash felt that his next badge win would be an easy win, but Ash was used to it, and had decided to find other challenges for himself... like expanding his collection of Legendary Pokemon.

It finally was time for Ash to battle Winona and win himself the Feather Badge.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with no substitutions! Trainers, send out your first Pokemon!"

"Go Altaria!" Winona said.

"Go Metagross!" Ash said, feeling that he could sweep Winona's team with it.

Ash started them off by having Metagross restrain Alteria and then defeat it with Ice Punch. Her Pelipper was defeated next by its own psychically redirected Hydro Pump and a Thunder Punch.

Not even Winona's Swellow was a challenge, but Ash was given the Feather Badge and six thousand Pokedollars by a humiliated Winona.

Ash left Fortree City displeased with the battle, but he knew that he only needed to get eight badges and then he could battle better trainers in the Ever Grande Conference.

With Winona defeated, Ash needed to level up his Pokemon further... his research had shown that Tate and Liza's Pokemon were about ten levels higher. Apart from that, Ash was tracking and killing off members of Team Aqua... which soon led him to the Weather Institute.

Ash had just arrived near the Weather Institute and disillusioned himself and he quickly began taking out the Team Aqua sentries, leaving them dead, devoid of weapons, communication devices, and Pokemon. Ash also learned from their minds that they wanted to use Kyogre to expand the oceans, which Ash found to be extremely stupid. Still, Ash entered the Institute and began picking off the Team Aqua Grunts and quickly picked them off in pairs, stunning their Pokemon and then returning them.

Eventually, Ash opted to deal with the leader of the operation and her surviving agents.

Fortunately, Ash arrived just in time to witness a Team Magma Agent reveal himself. Ash teleported behind him, snatched the info the agent bragged about, broke his neck and then kicked him off the satellite and even stunned his Ditto for good measure.

Ash restrained Shelly and her grunts and then killed them all... He would summon their shades later and use their information to damage Team Aqua even further.

With his mission completed, Ash teleported away.

While training his Pokemon up to level 55, his Shelgon evolved into Salamence, and he taught all those who had naturally learned all the moves they could some newer moves.

* * *

Ash _hated _Team Aqua and Magma. His only consolation was that he had escaped with Pikachu while faking his death in an explosion. May and Max had thankfully escaped before he faked his death... As for why? Team Magma wanted Ash to defeat both Legendary Pokemon; Groudon and Kyogre, and then hand them over to them.

Ash freed Kyogre, disguised himself, and then he went to utterly annihilate both teams. Ash didn't rest until every single person involved was dead... it took him a day due to his rage. It was brutal, horrific, and even Ash was a little traumatized, but it needed to be done and it was. They were all dead and the world was a better place for it. Ash didn't feel _any _remorse or regret for wiping them out... they were an extinction-level threat.

Ash decided that it was time to meet back up with May and Max... who had both been rescued by Lance's Gyarados.

"Ash!?" Max questioned in shock.

"Yeah, I survived thanks to Kyogre, my Pokemon, and that guy who wiped out Team Rocket. I just recently woke up and was allowed to leave immediately." Ash replied.

"Did he hurt you?" Lance asked in concern.

"No. I'm not a criminal who's better off dead." Ash replied. Ash was just a criminal and vigilante. "He wiped out Team Aqua and Magma by the way... I can't say that I disapprove of that action."

"It's mass-murder!" Lance protested.

"Yes. He killed thousands so that millions or more might live and I... I... find myself unable to judge him too harshly for it. He simply chose the smaller number of deaths and in doing so he saved millions of lives. I'm not saying that murder isn't horrible, but this guy chose to murder a minority to prevent their murder of a majority. He's aiming for stable long-term solutions and trying to make examples of villainous teams in the process and it's working. When the alternative is living in fear while the various leagues try defeating the threat, I can't help but to sympathize. I won't be helping him, but I see no reason to personally try stopping him."

Lance sighed, realizing that Ash had a point. "I'm glad that you're okay, Ash. I do need to go though. I have a lot of paper work to get done." Lance departed, leaving behind an awed Max.

"Lance is so cool!" Max said.

"But I'm way cooler," Ash added, patting Max on the shoulder.

"No you're not," Max said in disagreement.

"Smile and nod, Max. I've been teaching you a lot and it's only polite to let me believe that." Ash said jokingly.

"Fine, but it's a huge sacrifice on my part," Max said with a put upon tone.

"I know and I appreciate it," Ash said.

They had been amusing May with their back and forth and May was glad that Max had made a friend. Ash had been teaching them both a lot; cooking, training, healing, first aid, safety, tactics, laws, survival, and several other things. Max was soaking it all up like a sponge and May was interested in cooking, healing, first aid, tactics, and survival, but she wasn't as interested as her brother. Still, both had done incredibly well and they had both made Ash proud. Ash might start traveling with other people on _every _journey.

* * *

It was finally time for Ash's battle with Tate and Liza, but Ash just wished that he could have trained more for his battle with Tate and Liza. He was confident in his victory, but training was something of an obsession of his, and it had produced great results. Ash just hoped that he could get his third championship in a row.

But first, Ash had to defeat the gym leaders Tate and Liza. He would be using his Dusclops and Milotic for that and he was hoping that they would be enough. Double Battles were a new experience for Ash and he would need to overcome that failing and at least become competent at them. Ash had practiced, of course, he would be an idiot to not have done so, and felt that he had a good understanding of the skills required for Double Battles... Still, only time would tell.

After the referee, Tate and Liza's mother, specified the conditions of the battle the three of them sent out their Pokemon.

"Go Solrock!" Tate said.

"Go Lunatone!" Liza said.

"Go Dusclops and Milotic!" Ash said, using them to exploit three weaknesses of Tate and Liza's Pokemon.

"Solrock use Solar Beam!" Tate ordered, beginning the battle. Liza followed with an Ice Beam, but Ash had Milotic protect herself and Dusclops with Protect and then had Dusclops use Shadow Ball on Solrock and Milotic use Hydro Pump on Lunatone, who used Light Screen. Since Solrock's Solar Beam was the biggest threat, Ash had Dusclops attack with Shadow Ball and had Milotic use Hydro Pump on it, defeating Solrock and leaving Liza alone. Ash ordered Dusclops to use Dark Pulse and Milotic another Hydro Pump, leaving Lunatone unable to battle.

"The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" The referee said as Tate and Liza returned their Pokemon. Ash returned his Pokemon and walked over too Tate and Liza.

"Congratulations!" Tate and Liza said in twin speak.

"We present you with the Mind Badge!" Liza said, handing Ash the badge.

"Proof of your victory over us!" Tate finished.

"Also, 7000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account." Liza added.

"Thanks," Ash said, somewhat distracted with thoughts over his performance. The battle didn't last long, but Ash felt that his training was worthwhile and that his Pokemon had performed at the desired level. Ash left the Mossdeep City Gym, thinking of improvements to his techniques.

Ash needed to get his Pokemon up to a higher level now, which meant more training and battling.

* * *

Their travels continued and Ash, May, and Max all grew with each passing day. May was nearly sabotaged by Harley, a new rival, but Ash warned her to be wary of him and others that might want to sabotage her. They had even saved a village from destruction and ignorance... the idiots thought an Absol was causing all of the disasters. May caught a mischievous Snorunt and Max had befriended a Ralts which he vowed to return for.

But now it was time for Ash's battle for his eighth badge...

"Ah, a challenger!" Juan said. "Welcome to the Sootopolis Gym, I am Juan, the gym leader."

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come to challenge you for the Rain Badge," Ash said.

"Excellent! It will be a Double Battle and then a three-on-three Pokemon battle," Juan said, and Ash nodded, having researched Juan.

Juan's butler and referee took his place and then reiterated what Juan said and stated that only Ash, the challenger, may substitute his Pokemon.

Juan sent out his Sealeo and Seaking, and Ash sent out his Gardevoir and Dusclops.

Ash started the party with an order for Dusclops to restrain them and then had Gardevoir use Hypnosis on them both, much to Juan's annoyance. Ash had them bound with Destiny Bond and then had them both use Dream Eater, with Dusknoir adding Hex and Gardevoir using Draining Kiss. It was boring, but Ash was also trying to exploit status conditions more and not use so much brute force. Eventually, Ash had Gardevoir use Magical Leaf on Seaking and Dusclops use Thunder Punch on Sealeo, which left them both unable to battle.

"Impressive, if greatly lacking in elegance," Juan commented.

"I'm not into pageantry," Ash replied, returning his Gardevoir and Dusclops and sending out his Sceptile.

Juan looked as if he bit down a sarcastic remark and sent out his Luvdisc and had it use Sweet Kiss, which was countered with Protect and then a Quick Attack followed up by a brutal Leaf Blade attack and Mega Drain to finish it, and leaving Juan shocked by the brutality and ugliness of Ash's battle style. Juan returned his Luvdisk and sent out Whiscash and ordered it to use Hyper Beam, but Ash had Sceptile dodge with Quick Attack while charging up a Solar Beam, which was Ash's new favorite improvised move and it blasted Whiscash away, severely damaged. Whiscash was finished off by Seed Bomb.

Juan returned his defeated Whiscash and Ash returned his Sceptile, feeling that it had worked hard enough and that it would be risky to leave in play for much longer. Ash sent out his Altaria, much to Juan's surprise. Juan was expecting another Electric-type or Grass-type, but Juan suspected that Altaria had skills that Ash felt would bring him victory, and his opponents victory was a near-certainty considering his Dusclops and Gardevoir's Destiny Bond and the Dream Eater/Hypnosis/Hex/Draining Kiss combination.

"Go my dear old friend," Juan said, sending out his Milotic.

Ash wasted no time in ordering Altaria to use Perish Song, much to Juan's annoyance. Juan sighed. "Then we will take your Altaria with us! Twister!"

Ash smirked and had Altaria use Aerial Ace and use the Twister against Milotic and Juan, hitting Milotic with incredible force and knocking it down hard and forcing it to use Recover... That Recover was the only thing that kept it able to battle after being hit with Solar Beam. Until the Perish Song took effect and caused it to faint.

"Milotic is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Sebastian announced.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Juan said, returning his Milotic. Ash did the same with his Altaria. "You weren't at all elegant, but your using my Milotic's Twister against us was brilliant! Your Pokemon are all very well trained and quite possibly Elite Four level."

"Thank you, Juan." Ash said politely.

"You have trained them all to very high levels in such a short time and you still have an excellent bond with them, which is surprising and impressive." Juan said. "Anyway... I, Juan, present you with the Rain Badge, proof of your victory over me! Eight thousand Poke dollars will also be transferred into your account. The Ever Grande Conference will be beginning in six months time in Ever Grande City... I'm sure you will spend a lot of time training?"

Ash noticed the questioning tone and replied. "Yes, my older Pokemon need refresher training and I may catch some new Pokemon too."

After exchanging polite goodbyes, Ash, May, and Max left the Sootopolis City Gym.

After getting briefly trapped on Mirage Island and catching a Wynaut and watching May in the Grand Festival, Ash bought May and Max tickets to Ever Grande City and then went to train on Mount Silver.

* * *

With Ash having attained his eighth and final badge, he left to train on Mount Silver. It went very well, and by this time Ash felt that he was something of an expert at training and raising strong Pokemon. Ash got all of his Hoenn Pokemon up to beyond the champion level, which was only level seventy-five or higher, but Ash preferred to compare his Pokemon with Lance's or Steven's and theirs were all in the eighties and the high seventies, and now Ash's were all level 100. It was hard, but his Pokemon were all well-prepared and were willing to work hard to become strong and master their moves. Ash was extremely pleased with his Hoenn Pokemon and their work ethic.

Ash wasn't just training his Hoenn Pokemon though, he was also training his Pokemon caught for the Kanto and Johto Leagues too. Ash focused on training those who could Mega-Evolve, and his Dragonite, Kingdra, and Ash could finally Mega-Evolve his Aerodactyl. Ash now had several Pokemon who reached the limit of the current scale for measuring levels, but everyone knew that Pokemon just kept growing in power as long as they trained. The level system was only useful to a certain point, level 100, but they weren't unbeatable and Ash knew that. Charizard and Pikachu seemed pretty close to it though.

Ash had also finally evolved his Dusclops into a Dusknoir.

It was after all that work that Ash learned of the rankings of trainers and of his own rank... he was nationally ranked in the Top 40, and that was after his defeat of Steven was made public. It was impressive, Ash could admit that, but that was only the Top 40 in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions; which were all part of the same country. Considering the fact that he wasn't in the Elite Four, a champion who defeated them and became the regional Champion, former regional champion, former Elite Four, or a Pokemon Master, that was quite impressive. It wasn't at all bad for a thirteen year old, but Ash wanted nothing less than to be the acknowledged and absolute best.

But to celebrate this partial success, Ash lost his virginity at the age of thirteen.

Ash got bored of training eventually though. He didn't have any leads on Jirachi or Deoxys, but _had _found the location of a Latias and Latios... and both could Mega Evolve... Ash was thrilled.

The first thing Ash did when he found them was trap them with Absol and Gengar's Mean Look... after that Ash Mega Evolved Gengar and then bound both Latias and Latios with Destiny Bond... Ash wasn't taking any chances here.

The actual battle began with two Shadow Balls from Mega Gengar and Absol hitting Latias and Latios.

Ash wished that they were a challenge, but they just weren't. It helped that his Pokemon were at level 150 and level 100, but Latias and Latios weren't even at level 70 and they never really stood a chance. It took a mere three attacks from Ash's Mega Gengar and Absol to defeat them both. Ash threw two regular Poke Balls and after three dings, it registered two successful captures.

Everything was coming together. Ash would eventually locate Deoxys and Jirachi and he was designing a Containment Ball for Pokemon like them that transformed into an inanimate form, but it wouldn't hold other Poke Balls or objects as a precaution. Thankfully Deoxys had enough energy to register as a Pokemon in its crystal form and so should Jirachi in theory. Ash returned his Absol and Gengar and contacted Professor Oak.

"Hello, Ash," Oak said kindly. "Are you calling about your two recent captures?"

"Yes, Latias and Latios. Only 2 Hoenn region Pokemon are left to catch."

"Congratulations, Ash!"

"Thanks. Has Kurt gotten back to you on the Containment Ball?"

"Yes, the design will do what you intended for it to do," Oak replied. "He sent it back to me."

"Great! When I get back to Pallet Town I'll put it into limited production in the makeshift factory that I have. I can make five a day there, which is kind of excessive given the balls nature." Professor Oak nodded in agreement.

"As for catching Jirachi, both known are currently sleeping... One in Forina, which I've narrowed down to a very small area underground, and one on the bottom of a lake in Unova on Big Island which can be caught most easily. The second would be your best bet, Ash."

"I'll visit the location once I have multiple Containment Balls. I don't need to use up my few prototypes." Ash replied, to which Oak nodded.

"I'll keep your recent captures quiet, Ash. You've amassed an impressive collection of Pokemon and you could easily become a target if that got out."

"I appreciate that, Professor. While the world has been cleansed of evil recently it's not completely clean yet... perhaps in the future I can reveal all of my Pokemon without fear." Ash replied.

After saying their goodbyes, they ended the call and Ash decided to relax before leaving for Ever Grande City.


	14. Chapter 14

**Review Responses:**

**John50:** A Mew was resurrected by Death and Fate and given to Ash as a reward for purging Team Rocket. I never really plotted that out, it wasn't relevant for my story and I needed to focus on what was relevant too wisely use my energy and time. It's generally anger, shame, and a desire to rebel.

**Lezaroth:** Yeah, I wanted too capture his personality and I think that I did well. As for Rayquaza, who says that Ash doesn't already have one caught? I like your idea about the Containment Balls, but Ash can use magic to store stuff.

**Dragon Prime:** Ash's father is theorized to be a short list, on that is Silver from Pokemon Chronicles, The Search for the Legend. He's listed on Pokemon wiki as Silver (Sevii Islands). That's who Ash's dad is in my story based upon his reaction on hearing Ash's name in the mentioned episode. So, no. Ash didn't murder his grandfather, he isn't that twisted.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** It's not that uncommon nowadays and Ash was very sexually active in his past life. Besides, practice makes perfect and Ash is planning on having a wife and kids.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks, I'm glad that you like my story.

**Dylan-A-Friend:** Thanks.

* * *

Upon arriving at Ever Grande City, Ash wasted no time in registering and familiarizing himself with the city with May and Max... and avoiding any drama. Apart from all the Murkrow that Ash had defeated with Pikachu and Charizard.

Winning his battles in the preliminary round and qualifying rounds was quite easy, but Ash was pleased to already be in the Top 32.

The finals would begin tomorrow, but Ash was relaxing and talking with his friends. They were joined by a short and fat man that Ash recognized as Scott, the founder of the Battle Frontier.

"Scott, the founder and owner of the Battle Frontier," Ash said by way of introduction. "If you're here to try persuading me to waste my time on your business, then I reserve the right to laugh in your face; publicly humiliating you."

"The Battle Frontier has seven trainers that are Elite Four level, why would you not want to challenge them?" Scott asked, needing Ash convinced to get involved. A trainer of Ash's standing getting involved would greatly improve the Battle Frontiers reputation and draw in more trainers...

Ash laughed at Scott's over-exaggeration. "Brandon competed in multiple leagues, over a dozen, and he never placed higher than Top 16. He was a nobody until he caught a Regirock, a Registeel, and a Regice, and that was when he suddenly became 'Elite Four level' as you said. He's literally nothing but a greatly over-hyped trainer and tourist attraction with his three Regis. Any of his successes can be attributed to them and not his actual skill."

"Your Factory Head, Dome Ace, Palace Maven, and Arena Tycoon are decent, but certainly not Elite Four level. Now... I know you're questioning my ability to make this assessment, but I've beaten Steven Stone and I have battled truly elite trainers on Mount Silver, so I feel that I can assess their skills. Plus, I'm a two time Champion. Your Battle Frontier is nothing more than tourist attraction with over-hyped trainers, and nothing more than an attempt to earn yourself some more money. Now, I'm normally not rude, but you tried lying to me and my friends so please go deceive someone else into wasting their time."

"Very well," Scott said coldly, before leaving their table.

"That was interesting..." Tyson said, but he was interested in the Battle Frontier.

"I suppose. I'm going to train for a year on Mount Silver after this instead. I was on the verge of unlocking something truly extraordinary while training there and I want to start again."

"An entire year?" Max asked in awe.

"Yeah. I'll only come down for healing, supplies, family, and maybe some Pokedex work." Ash replied.

"We aren't going to continue traveling together?" May asked sadly.

"Sorry, no. I was close to overcoming a limit that I've been aware of for years and I _need _to get past that... I've enjoyed traveling with both you and Max, but you'll both be fine without me in the next region though. I've made sure that you both had the skills necessary to do so. Plus Max will be old enough to be a trainer in just over a year, and traveling with you through another region will be great preparation and with just the two of you it will help you both _a lot_." Ash said, explaining why to spare some hurt feelings.

"Do you really need an entire year to do that?" Max asked.

"To unlock it, no. But to truly master it I might need even longer than that... this power is world changing and major." Ash replied. "I promise you that when I'm forced to use it you'll both understand."

They just took Ash's word for it and opted to enjoy their remaining time together.

* * *

Ash's first battle in the Top 32 was a complete disappointment. Altaria and Gardevoir gave his first opponent a humiliating defeat with them losing six Pokemon to Ash's one lost Pokemon. Ash was still very pleased to be in the Top 16, but he was hoping for some real challenges. Ash had made his way into the Top 16 along with an idiot named Morrison, Tyson, Bill, Rick, and several others. Ash felt that his chances of victory were excellent, even if Tyson's Metagross and Sceptile could both Mega-Evolve.

Ash was seeing more hints of Mega-Evolution, Bill had two Key Stones, but Ash didn't consider him a threat though. Bill's Pokemon were all on a much lower level and he was a Psychic-type specialist. Ash estimated that Bill's Pokemon were all level 60 and Ash was guessing that he actively restrained himself from reaching too high, which meant that he had a purpose for such actions. Ash was guessing that Bill only wanted to become a member of the Elite Four or felt that he was at the champion-level already... he wasn't.

Ash's next opponent was Morrison, who nearly gave up when he saw who he was suppose to battle, which was fine with Ash... Ash had already dissected Morrison's team and style to defeat him.

Morrison never stood a chance and Ash wasn't the type to hold back in battles...

Metang and Steelix both fell quickly to Blaziken's fire attacks and Swampert was one-hit by a well placed Solar Beam.

Gligar was blasted from the sky and Girafarig was one-hit with a Shadow Claw... Growlithe was easily beaten by a Thunder Punch from Blaziken.

Morrison left the Ever Grande Conference incredibly humbled and he had his eyes opened... Morrison would vow to become much stronger so that he wouldn't ever have to suffer such a humiliating defeat ever again.

Ash's first battle in the Top 8 was against Tyson and Tyson actually looked confident... poor delusional idiot.

"This will be a full six-on-six Pokemon battle with substitutions! Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee said and Ash and Tyson both nodded in understanding. Tyson sent out his Sceptile, equipped with a Mega Stone, and Ash sent out his Blaziken.

Ash was surprised that Tyson didn't substitute his Sceptile, but once he Mega-Evolved his Sceptile, that surprise vanished. Brute force it was, then. Tyson wanted to gain an early lead and defeat some of Ash's Pokemon with Sceptile's Mega-Evolution. That wasn't a good idea for Tyson. Ash knew what Tyson's weak Sceptile was capable of, and Tyson was now very concerned about Ash's knowing smirk.

"Use Blast Burn on the entire battlefield." Ash ordered calmly, knowing that it was necessary to counter Sceptile's Detect. Blaziken obeyed, bathing the entire battlefield in its fire and then charging through the fire with Flame Charge, and then following up the attack with a full-powered Brave Bird that left Sceptile unable to battle.

"Sceptile is unable to battle! Tyson, send out your Pokemon." The referee said, and Ash decided to keep his Blaziken in play and let it hopefully take out what Ash suspected would be either Tyson's Donphan, Meowth, or Hariyama. Ash was feeling that Blaziken might be able to perform a team sweep and that would make an already historical win even better... Ash was gonna go for it!

"Go Hariyama!" Tyson said, hoping that it's Thick Fat ability could help it last. "Use Brick Break!"

"Catch it and use Focus Punch," Ash replied calmly, with Blaziken succeeding. Ash had it followed up by Brave Bird; defeating the weakened and injured Pokemon. _It was low level, and it barely stood a stance in the first place, _Ash mused, _and now it was in really bad shape._ _It will probably be in the Pokemon Center for a couple of days. _Ash was displeased with his opponent, his team had major weaknesses.

Donphan was defeated next, with Blaziken using Focus Blast on the ground and then repeating it on Donphan directly. Now, that didn't quite finish the job, but the Flare Blitz that followed it certainly did. With Tyson having lost three Pokemon, they were forced to take a break.

When the battle restarted, Tyson sent out his Meowth, which caused Ash to roll his eyes in disdain and anger them both. Ash sent out his Blaziken and decided to end it quick, not deeming the Meowth to be worth his time.

"Blast Burn," Ash said boredly. Ash watched as the battlefield was bathed once more in Blaziken's fire, and smirking when the Meowth's absurd outfit was burned off. The Meowth was still conscious though, and Ash admired Tyson's patience for training such a low potential Pokemon to such a high level. It was wasteful, but the Meowth was at least level 80 and was an example for weaker Pokemon to aspire too.

"Thunderbolt!" Tyson ordered and was shocked when Ash didn't have Blaziken dodge or counter it. He was even more shocked when it did no real damage.

Ash had his Blaziken use the speed of Quick Attack and unleash a brutal beatdown on Meowth... Focus Punch's, Double Kick's, and Sky Uppercut's and Meowth fainted and was left in bad shape. What Ash didn't know was its legs had been severely injured. Ash wouldn't learn that until later. "Meowth is unable to battle! Tyson, send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said, sympathizing with Tyson's plight, but knowing that Tyson had made a mistake in participating in this competition before he and his Pokemon were ready.

Tyson returned his Meowth, greatly concerned about its condition and sent out his Shiftry. Shiftry was his last hope for defeating Ash's Blaziken and his Mega Metagross needed the Fire-type and any other threats gone for Tyson to still have a chance at victory. Tyson refused to forfeit! He was too close!

The next victim was Tyson's Shiftry and it only managed one Shadow Ball before getting defeated.

"Shiftry is unable to battle! Tyson, send out your final Pokemon!" The referee said, while wishing Tyson would just forfeit.

"Just forfeit! All you're doing is forcing your Pokemon to suffer for nothing! You're already beaten!" Ash said, trying to get the idiot to see sense.

"I've come too far to just give up!" Tyson replied, to Ash's disgust.

"Even if you do beat Blaziken, which you wont, you would have to defeat five more Pokemon; including my Charizard and Pikachu. My victory is an absolute and nothing you do can change that." Ash said in clear annoyance. "You have three Pokemon that are Elite Four level, but the rest are low level and poorly trained."

That, unfortunately, only angered Tyson and caused him to send out his Metagross to prove him wrong. It was quickly Mega-Evolved too. "I'll show you poorly trained!"

"You already have, five times!" Ash replied.

"Meteor Mash!" Tyson said angrily, and Mega Metagross charged.

"Blast Burn," Ash ordered, but only after rolling his eyes. The nature of Blast Burn's attack pattern meant that Tyson defeated himself and caused Mega Metagross to suffer needlessly as it charged into the attack.

"The winner of this battle is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town..." the referee said in shock. Tyson had been utterly dominated!

It was soon down too Ash, the Psychic-type specialist Bill, Rick, and the Fire-type specialist Hestia for the Top 4.

* * *

Rick, Bill's cousin who used a set of Legendary Birds, was _finally _able to defeat Hestia, but he had his Articuno, Sceptile, Swampert, and Moltres all defeated; much to his anger and annoyance. Hestia was an elite level trainer and Rick was just playing at being one.

Ash and Bill would be battling next, and the winner would battle for the championship.

"This will be a full six-on-six Pokemon battle with substitutions! Trainers send out your first Pokemon!"

"Go Medicham!"

"Go Dusknoir!" Harry said. "Use Shadow Punch!"

With the speed of that move, Medicham was quickly and very easily defeated... with one attack.

"Medicham is unable to battle. Bill, send out your next Pokemon."

"Go Alakazam!" Bill said angrily. "Alakazam! Mega Evolve!" Everyone watched as power emitted from Bill's Key Stone and Alakazam and light enveloped Alakazam as it evolved into its Mega-Evolved form. When it had finished evolving, Bill's look was absolutely murderous. "Mega Alakazam, defeat Dusknoir!" Bill ordered, but Mega Alakazam was shaking and didn't obey.

"You didn't test it before using it in battle?!" Ash asked in concern.

"No! I just got the stones from my cousin!" Bill replied angrily.

"Return it before it goes on a rampage!" Ash said, before shooing the referee away. The referee obeyed, albeit grudgingly.

"Mega Alakazam, destroy Dusknoir!" Bill ordered once more, but Mega Alakazam was still refusing orders. "Do it you useless creature!"

_Huge _mistake. Bill's rogue Pokemon glared balefully at him before then telekinetically flinging him into a wall, breaking countless bones, and damaging several vital organs. Having no choice, Ash ordered his Dusknoir to barrage Mega Alakazam with Shadow Balls and Dark Pulses... quickly defeating the rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon.

"Get Bill medical help!" Ash called out to the referee, but Ash knew that it was already too late. Bill was given a death sentence... he had hours of life left at the very most. Ash could see Death's mark upon Bill now, he was marked for death for some reason. Ash suspected that it was because of his families disgraceful actions in acquiring power in politics, battling, and even a few in the military.

Bill was quickly surrounded by Nurse Joy's and human doctors, but Ash was approached by Officer Jenny and President Goodshow.

"What happened?" Officer Jenny asked, getting a raised eyebrow from Ash. "I know that you aren't at fault; Bill's Alakazam disobeyed him and even attacked him."

"Their bond wasn't strong enough and the added power of Mega Evolution released its inhibitions to a slight extent. Bill's verbal abuse just pushed it over the edge, causing it to go berserk. Think of it as angering an already unstable Pokemon. Bill refused to return his Pokemon, which would have prevented his death and ended the Mega Evolution. Bill admitted that he just got the stones from his cousin, which was reckless... Bill and his idiot cousin ignorantly caused this."

"Thank you, but is there anyone else that we can contact? No offense, but I need more than just one experts opinion."

"Professor Sycamore; the regional Professor of Kalos, or a man named Gurkinn. Gurkinn's granddaughter is the Gym Leader of the Shalour City Gym and she should be able to put you in contact with him if you can't reach him easily. Sycamore specializes in Mega Evolution and Gurkinn is a well known Guru of it."

Officer Jenny nodded and then left to contact them.

Ash was allowed to continue in the conference due to not being a suspect in the death and Rick and Bill's stupidity was being blamed for it. Naturally that caused a division in their family with Bill's parents blaming Rick and his stupid reckless plan for Bill's death. It was now well known that Rick and Bill wanted revenge for Bill's previous defeat and that had led to Bill's death.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Steven asked, having come to personally check on Harry.

"Yeah. What happened was terrible, but I wasn't at any fault. Bill shouldn't have used Mega Evolution without testing it first and his idiot cousin shouldn't have ever pressured him into doing that. This is why I've always advocated safety when testing Mega Evolution and new combinations and strategies... I really need to raise more awareness of those dangers." Steven nodded in agreement and he decided to do the same.

"I'll do the same, but I came to warn you that Rick and Bill's families are trying to get you blamed; only the fact that most despise them is stopping it." Steven said, but was surprised when Ash simply nodded; having heard of the vile family. "You don't seem surprised."

"I've heard of them. They can't cross me and get away with it and I won't have my life ruined by a bunch of idiots who think that they have real power. I'll crush Rick and his poorly trained Legendary Birds that he's only holding back and then if they push the matter then I'll show off _my _Legendaries... which I actually know how to train." Ash replied, shocking Steven. "I do appreciate your concern and warning though, but I've been cautious."

"I'm glad. They have a lot of enemies but they throw a lot of money around to get positions and security to guard themselves." Steven said.

After saying their goodbyes, Steven went back to his seat and Ash continued preparing for his next battle.

* * *

It was finally time for the Ever Grande Conference's final battle and Ash was psyched. He was going to end a dynasty with this one battle.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with substitutions allowed and will have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Hoenn League, win one million Poke dollars and other prizes, and gain the right to challenge the Elite Four and the reigning Champion." President Goodshow said.

"This battle will be a full on six-on-six battle, with both trainers allowed unlimited substitutions and the battle will have no time limit. Furthermore, when one or both trainers lose three Pokemon, there will be a short intermission." The referee said and Ash and Rick both nodded in understanding. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee said.

"Go Blaziken!" Rick said.

"Go Milotic!" Ash replied, expecting Rick to return Blaziken and send out Sceptile. He was wrong and Rick ordered a Flamethrower that was overpowered by Water Pulse and then followed up by Rain Dance and Water Sport.

"Blast Burn!" Rick ordered angrily, but it was severely weakened and easily defended against with Protect and then followed up with Attract... once Blaziken was neutralized, it was hit with Hydro Pump and quickly defeated.

"Blaziken is unable to battle. Rick, send out your next Pokemon."

"Go Sceptile! Use Leaf Blade!"

Ash waited and then ordered an Ice Beam... ending with Milotic taking out yet another of Rick's Pokemon.

"Sceptile is unable to battle. Rick, send out your next Pokemon."

Rick sent out his Marshtomp, to see if Ash would return his Milotic and Ash did, but sent out his own Sceptile, causing Rick to smirk.

"Ice Beam!" Rick ordered.

"Detect!" Sceptile dodged. "Solar Beam!" Sceptile blasted Marshtomp into a wall... unable to battle. Rick looked enraged and sent out his own Moltres and ordered it to use Flamethrower, ignoring the referee's call for a break and forcing Ash to defend... Ash was nearly hit by the Flamethrower too and was forced to duck.

Ash had Sceptile evade using Detect and then counter with a Rock Slide that heavily damaged Moltres. It was quickly followed up by more Rock Slide attacks that defeated Moltres.

"Moltres is unable to battle... Despite ignoring my call, Rick, can send out his next Pokemon and the battle can continue."

"Go Articuno!"

Ash quickly returned his Sceptile and sent out his Absol.

Articuno used Ice Beam, but Absol dodged with Detect and then replied with a Flamethrower that was partly dodged but still dealt heavy damage. Absol also snuck in a Mean Look too, on Ash's orders. Absol kept up the attack with a Thunderbolt that was dodged and another that actually hit, with Articuno briefly immobile, Ash had it followed up with another Flamethrower.

"Articuno is unable to battle. Rick, send out your final Pokemon."

Rick snarled and sent out his Zapdos, which was successfully hit by Perish Song that only enraged Rick further.

"Thunder! Fry that Absol!" Rick ordered, disgusting Zapdos and causing her to refuse his orders. "Do it! Now!" Zapdos glared at Rick. "Now! You stupid beast!"

Seeing an opportunity, Ash spoke into the Zapdos' mind._ "I want you to strike you and your siblings Poke Balls and break them. I'll ensure that all of you are healed, even if I have to do it myself."_

_"Thank you, Master of Death and Champion of Fate,"_ Zapdos replied, before striking the Poke Balls and hitting Rick with Thunderbolt and blasting him into a wall.

Zapdos fainted moments later... having stirred the pity of most of the audience who by now were all only guessing of the abuse that they suffered. Rick's family were enraged by the humiliations that their family were suffering recently.

"The winner of this battle is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town..." the referee said after brief deliberation.

After briefly speaking with Officer Jenny and President Goodshow, Ash caught the three Legendary Birds in Heal Balls and then set them free... with directions towards his private island and male Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres in their minds.

"Ash Ketchum has done it yet again!" The announcer said in awe. "For those who don't know, this is Ash's third championship win! Not only that, but Ash has matched his own previous achievement in the Indigo Plateau Conference and only one of his Pokemon fainted during the entire Ever Grande Conference! This is his third league win in a row and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has become the first in history to achieve this."

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has several noteworthy accomplishments... He won the Indigo Plateau Conference with only one of his Pokemon having fainted during the entire conference. He won the Silver Conference with no Pokemon having fainted. He has just won the Ever Grande Conference with only one Pokemon having fainted. Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has set three national records and one world record!"

President Goodshow and Hoenn Champion Steven Stone came to present Ash with his winnings.

"Congratulations on winning the Ever Grande Conference, Ash, and on your historical winning streak." President Goodshow said.

"Yes, congratulations, Ash," Steven said. "I'm glad you aren't interested in being Champion of Hoenn!" He added jokingly.

"I present you with your trophy; proof of your victory, and one million Poke dollars will be transferred into your account. Your winning the Ever Grande Conference grants you the right to challenge Hoenn's Elite Four and Steven at any time you desire, and you will bear the title Champion of the Ever Grande Conference until next year."

"Sorry, but we have to abandon you to the reporters now," Steven said. "Also, if you find a way to make money every time you get asked 'what's next for you' or 'what will you do next', let me know. I've been asked that a lot and I need to know very badly." With that parting remark, Steven and President Goodshow walked away.

Sure enough, the first reporter to him asked what was next for him. Reporters and their staple questions...

"I'll be taking a gap-year and training, maybe catching new Pokemon," Ash replied. "Now, I have one more thing to say given recent events. Mega Evolution is very dangerous and it requires a strong bond between both trainer and Pokemon, if the bond isn't strong enough then the Pokemon could go berserk and possibly even go on a killing spree. Mega Evolution should be first attempted in a controlled environment and with people on hand to defeat or contain the possibly rampant Pokemon."

The reporters looked almost disappointed, but Ash didn't care. That just got him free of them much earlier.

Rick's family tried to cause trouble, but the people were sick of their weak, arrogant, entitled, pompous, and pathetic family. They used bribes to get their families jobs beyond their skill level and avoid legal persecution for abusing Pokemon, looked down on everyone, purchased Pokemon from breeders to ensure that their children had the best and were even rumored to have helped Rick catch the three Legendary Birds with all of their Pokemon. Their 'reign' was over... And when Ash killed every single one of them an hour later, it was an undeniable fact. When Ash slew their minions and spies, their legacy was dead and buried.

Ash had no regrets. They would have eventually targeted him, his family and friends... and all because they believed their weak family deserved real power because they had money and could spread their corruption to others. They were all gone now, but Ash's anger and disgust for them remained.

* * *

After visiting his mother and Pokemon, Ash departed for Mount Silver to train... but he would only leave to capture Pokemon, manage his affairs, and to resupply. It would be a _very _productive year for Ash.

Ash caught all known forms of Unown, Umbreon, Blissey, and finally a Celebi... After deciding to finish up the Hoenn Dex Ash traveled to Big Island in Unova to catch and release a Jirachi and had located a Deoxys to catch.

But the training was somehow the most productive activity...

Ash trained all his Hoenn Pokemon up to level 150 and had gotten his older Pokemon and Legendaries far more powerful... but his oldest were still the most powerful of them. It was a struggle given their power and the distance between new levels of power, but it was one that Ash and his Pokemon were all willing to work through.

Ash had acquired a Riolu, Piplup, Bronzor, Snorunt, Snover, Turtwig, Spiritomb, Jangmo-o, Poipole, Gible, Dhelmise, and Popplio, but Ash couldn't acquire himself a Chimchar to complete the starter set. Ash gave them training to prepare for gym and trainers battles.

After briefly reuniting with May and Max; who both did extremely well without him, and helping Max through his hurt feelings about not going with May to Johto; Max had traveled for two years and was mere months away from becoming a trainer himself, and after defeating Gary again, Ash departed for Sinnoh after visiting with his mother and Pokemon again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Review Responses:**

**Lezaroth:** Yeah, Ash has too improve even if he's already kinda OP. No, I'm not a fan Z-Moves. That's why I had no plans to go that route with Containment Balls, plus they capture inert Pokemon without a fight. They easily catch Jirachi, Deoxys, and the like. Ash and Dawn won't be traveling together, IMO there is little or no benefit for them except companionship. You may enjoy the Pokemon battle in this chapter.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yeah, its unfortunate. I think you'll like the battle in this chapter.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks. I hope you like this chapter too.

* * *

Ash was just resting in Sinnoh, having walked for a while now and needing it. Pikachu went exploring, likely hunting for fruit or Pokemon to help Ash catch... most would worry but Pikachu was probably the strongest of his entire species. Imagine Ash's surprise when he heard Pikachu use Thunderbolt... leaving Charizard in charge, Ash ran to check on Pikachu as he unleashed another Thunderbolt.

"What's going on here?!" Ash asked furiously, arriving near a blue-haired girl and her defeated Piplup.

"I was trying to catch that Pikachu, but I underestimated it," Dawn replied, tending to her Piplup.

"Because it has a trainer, me, who's won three conference championships," Ash replied, checking up on his own Pokemon. After confirming that Pikachu was okay, Ash helped the girl heal her own Pokemon up.

"Why was your Pikachu away from you?"

"He likes to forage too and he's powerful enough to beat almost any opponent," Ash replied, healing Piplup with a Super Potion and feeding him with some berries. "I was only a few seconds of running from him, anyway. I'll have to supervise any future foraging though. Pikachu could have hurt Piplup very badly if he didn't hold back his full power."

"Your Pikachu was holding back?" Dawn asked in shock.

"Of course. You're a new trainer and your Piplup is visibly young and inexperienced... Pikachu could have killed him with one Thunderbolt." Piplup looked indignant. "No offense Piplup. You'll get stronger with time, but we've trained and battled intensely for four years. If you and your trainer work hard then you might catch up." That placated the young Penguin Pokemon.

"Lets head back to my campsite. I have my other Pokemon being watched by my Charizard," Ash said, and Dawn nodded and pushed her bike while following Ash.

The firsts words out of Dawn's mouth when she saw Ash's Pokemon? "Wow! You have so many Pokemon with you!"

"Yeah. As a child I learned from Professor Samuel Oak and eventually became a Professor myself... I have no real carry limit, but I generally limit myself to twenty Pokemon or no more than twenty-five." Dawn drew her Pokedex to scan Brionne, Spiritomb, Jangmo-o, Poipole, and Dhelmise, but Ash stopped her and then recited their information from memory and added little facts to it. Dawn confirmed the Pokedex information for Spiritomb and she was shocked.

"How'd you do that?"

"I helped program the Pokedex at age 8... I put the Sinnoh dex into numerical order and inputted a lot of data for the Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos Pokedexes. Brionne, Jangmo-o, Poipole, and Dhelmise are all from the Alola region, a region which lacks an established league and gyms. I'm not planning to travel through it, but I wanted some Pokemon from there for battles. Brionne evolves into a Water and Fairy-type and can really damage Dragon-types when properly trained. Jangmo-o evolves into a Dragon and Fighting-type, which is quite unique. Poipole evolves into a Poison and Dragon-type and Dhelmise is a Ghost and Grass-type that doesn't evolve."

"You sure know a lot about Pokemon," Dawn admitted, admiring Brionne's cuteness.

"Yeah, I've worked hard for my positions," Ash replied, checking Piplup over once more. "Piplup should be completely fine now, he has no lingering effects from the Thunderbolt attacks."

"Thanks! I'm sorry about attacking your Pikachu though. I didn't know that it had a trainer." Dawn said.

"It's fine. Pikachu wasn't harmed and Piplup only suffered temporary damage. I do need to get moving again though. I need to catch four specific Pokemon before flying to Oreburgh City to challenge the Gym Leader there." Ash replied.

Dawn was very understanding, she had probably inconvenienced him by attacking his Pikachu.

**Minutes later...**

Ash quickly captured a Shinx, Kricketot, and Bidoof and had just captured a low-level Starly mere moments ago.

"That was a weak Starly that you caught," a cold detached voice said.

Ash quickly located the source. "Yes and although I'll have to invest more time in it, the end result will be a superiorly trained Staraptor with a greater flying ability. I'll train specific traits and muscles for the desired result and it'll steadily develop control and experience."

"Huh," Paul replied indifferently. "Do you know where that massive Thunderbolt came from earlier?"

"From this living embodiment of cuteness on my shoulder," Ash replied, pointing at Pikachu.

"From a Pikachu?!" Paul asked in shock.

"A very high level one with specialized training to remove his need to evolve into Raichu." Ash replied, taking some offense.

"Doesn't look like much to me," Paul replied mockingly.

"Neither do you. You don't know who I am, do you?" Ash asked.

"No, but you must not be very important," Paul said taunting.

"How much money do you have in your account?" Ash asked, eager to humiliate the arrogant brat.

"A few million," Paul replied, sensing where Ash was going with that.

"100k per Pokemon defeated and my Pikachu will sweep your entire team. If he loses a battle then you get 100k for each Pokemon you have on you." Ash replied, smirking at Paul and silently daring him to accept.

"Deal!" Paul replied confidently despite not having his Torterra with him. "Elekid stand by for battle!"

"Attack whenever you're ready!" Ash replied calmly, but he was also very focused.

Paul had Elekid use Brick Break which Pikachu dodged and then used Iron Tail before knocking Elekid into a tree with a Brick Break of his own... Elekid was unable to battle.

"Chimchar! Stand by for battle!"

Chimchar used Flame Wheel but it was met by a Volt Tackle and Chimchar was quickly left unable to battle...

"Pathetic," Paul said to Chimchar.

"Yes you are," Ash said, looking directly at Paul and causing him to glare at Ash angrily.

Paul's Nidoking was beaten after using Earth Power which was copied by Pikachu's Mimic and then being attacked with Earth Power and then Slam.

Paul's Murkrow, Starly, and Azumarill quickly fell to Pikachu and Paul ran out of Pokemon.

"I believe you owe me 600,000 Poke dollars..." Ash said pleasantly, annoying Paul even more.

"Fine!" Paul said, transferring the money into Ash's account.

"I'll escort you to the Pokemon Center since you have no way of defending yourself," Ash said, but Paul didn't care.

"Whatever," Paul replied before walking away. Ash followed him, amused by Paul's anger.

"Anyway, I never introduced myself... I'm Ash Ketchum; a three time conference champion, holder of three national records for winning conferences, holder of a world record for winning three in a row, and I'm also a world recognized Professor at the age of fourteen. I've also completed the Pokedex for three regions in my spare time where my Pikachu defeated Ho-Oh."

"Do you really expect me to believe all that?" Paul asked snidely.

"You can check my trainer page to confirm it," Ash replied dismissively. "Which you really should do if you intend to participate in the Sinnoh League."

Paul did confirm that at the Pokemon Center and he was shocked by Ash's numerous accomplishments, but he refused to accept that Ash could defeat him.

"I'll still defeat you and win the championship," Paul replied.

"You? You're a lazy trainer who doesn't seriously invest in his Pokemon and only catches strong ones and you only have average potential." Ash replied, angering Paul. Ash was done with the idiot though and just left.

After evolving his Kricketot and Bidoof and returning them to their homes, and advising a guy named Nando to compete in both contests and the league until he decides on one or the other, Ash flew to Oreburgh City on his Charizard.

* * *

After training until Roark could battle him; leveling Starly and Shinx up to level twenty and evolving them, it was _finally _time for Ash to battle Roark.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle for the Coal Badge with no substitutions! The first trainer to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle!" The referee said. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon."

"Go Geodude!"

"Go Brionne!" Ash said, having already studied Roark.

"Use Rollout!" Roark ordered, thinking that Brionne would be very slow.

"Bubble Beam!" Ash ordered, aware of his Pokemon's weaknesses and Roark's own. Geodude went to its own demise and was one hit by a close range Bubble Beam.

"Geodude is unable to battle! Gym Leader Roark, please send out your next Pokemon."

Taking precautions, Roark sent out Onix and had it use Stealth Rock, but Ash had Brionne use Encore to undo any strategies. That was followed up by Aqua Jet and then a close range Bubble Beam.

"Onix is unable to battle! Gym Leader Roark, please send out your final Pokemon."

Roark was impressed by his opponent. Beating two of his Pokemon without losing even one of his own was very impressive, but Roark still had his strongest Pokemon left.

"Go Rampardos!" Roark said. "Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Meet it with Aqua Jet," Ash ordered calmly.

The two attacks met with Rampardos losing the contest of power and Brionne followed it up with a Bubble Beam... leaving Rampardos unable to battle.

"Rampardos is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Ash and Roark returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battlefield.

"Very impressive, Ash. You beat all three of my Pokemon with just one of yours and did it quickly too. It is with great admiration that I award you the Coal Badge and 1000 Poke dollars will be transferred into your account." Roark said.

"Thanks, Roark," Ash replied.

Ash left to train his Pokemon for the next Gym... or that was his original intention, but he eventually used his magic to locate fossils of Pokemon native to Sinnoh... Then Ash had to restore them, but that had added four more Pokemon to his Pokedex. After that, _then _Ash trained his Pokemon... winning battles and money, catching Pokemon and working on his Pokedex, and leveling up and evolving his Pokemon. Ash enjoyed battling and getting his Pokemon up to level 35 gave him plenty of chances.

Brionne evolved into Primarina, Poipole evolved into Naganadel, Jangmo-o evolved into Hakamo-o, Grotle evolved into Torterra, Staravia into Staraptor, Luxio into Luxray, and Bronzor had evolved into Bronzong.

Things seemed to be going great, but like in the past Ash's good life was briefly ruined.

Pokemon Hunter J was trying to steal a Gardevoir... Ash, of course, stopped her and she tried turning his Pikachu to stone to sale... Ash, of course, snapped.

Ash crushed her device _and _her arm, took her Poke Balls and returned her Pokemon, and then went to wipe out her entire operation, her clients and minions, and then obliviated all the witnesses and their Pokemon. For his trouble Ash took a lot of money and Pokemon including some that were Elite Four level and only the stolen ones and ones with families were returned. J later bled to death in the dirt before having her body destroyed.

Needing to distract himself and remembering that it's the day that Max would leave on his journey, Ash teleported to Professor Birch's lab in Hoenn.

* * *

It took hours for Max to arrive but Ash patiently waited in hiding for Max to choose his Treecko. Once Max was leaving, Ash revealed himself.

"Ash?!" Max asked in surprise.

"Hey, Max," Ash returned with a smile. "You know, I seem to recall you befriending a Shuppet and Ralts... wouldn't it be nice if you had a friend with a powerful Psychic-type Pokemon that could take you to them?"

"You'd do that for me?" Max asked excitedly.

"Of course I would Max. I want to see what you can do and I want to see you grow as a trainer... getting your two friends early in your journey would help you." Ash replied.

With Alakazam teleporting them around it didn't take long for Max to be reunited with his friends, but this was important. Ash wanted Max to have his Pokemon friends and he wanted Max to grow as a trainer and have an advantage over his competitors... Ash saw Max as a potential great rival when he grew some.

"Thanks for doing this, Ash. It means a lot that you came all the way here just to do this for me." Max said seriously.

"Don't worry about it, Max. It didn't take up much of my time and I needed a break. I nearly lost Pikachu to a criminal and after defeating them I rescued some Pokemon, but I still nearly had Pikachu taken from me. It scarred me a little and I just needed a little break."

"I'm glad both of you are okay," Max said. "What about the Pokemon?"

"They suffered abuse and need to be rehabilitated. The Salamence will be placed with a Dragon Master and the others will be turned over to the Pokemon League... sorry but you aren't experienced enough for violent Pokemon who'll try murdering you and eating you." Max thankfully understood. "You have enough money to throw around to buy a Bagon from a breeder once you're more experienced though but I'd avoid it. All known Salamence are extremely violent, blood thirsty, and unstable when Mega Evolved."

"Yeah, I think I'll get another dragon-type. Maybe an Altaria, Flygon, or Dragonite." Max replied. "Anyway, I need to get moving, Ash. Thanks again for your help... I'm glad that I was able to get Shuppet and Ralts before someone else did."

"No problem Max and good luck on your journey," Ash replied.

After saying their goodbyes, Ash was teleported out of sight and then Ash returned his Alakazam before teleporting himself back to Sinnoh.

* * *

J's Salamence was later given to Clair through Lance and her Drapion was given to Koga.

Ash went on to catch a Pachirisu, Buizel, Shellos, Gastrodon, Finneon, Drifloon, and a Lumineon near the Valley Windworks.

Most importantly, Ash got laid again. The lovely ladies name was Cheryl and they found the Amber Castle together... and then they had sex again to celebrate. Ash was truly blessed to have convinced another adult woman to sleep with him. He firmly refused to sleep with a minor... him _physically _being a minor wasn't an issue to him because he was actually centuries old in mind and spirit. Yeah... Ash had issues.

After catching another Buizel; this one having attacked trainers and their Pokemon, and catching it with his Pikachu and training a little more, Ash flew to Eterna City to challenge Gardenia.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle for the Forest Badge with no substitutions! The first trainer to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle!" The referee said. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon."

"Go Cherubi!" Gardenia said.

"Go Spiritomb," Ash said, aiming for another team sweep.

Gardenia allowed Ash to make the first move... which was, unfortunately for Gardenia, Hypnosis, and was then quickly followed up by Dream Eater, Confuse Ray, and another Dream Eater. Cherubi was defeated in no time at all.

Next up was Turtwig which used Leaf Storm, which was dodged and countered with Spite by depowering it completely. Ash repeated his Confusion/Dream Eater combination that defeated yet another of Gardenia's Pokemon.

Not even Gardenia's Roserade could put up a good fight and the extremely boring battle was over.

"Roserade is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Ash and Gardenia returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battlefield.

"I present you with the Forest Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 2000 Poke dollars will also be transferred into your account." Gardenia said, putting on a happy facade despite the boring battle.

"Thanks," Ash said politely.

Ash left the gym dissatisfied with the battle but was resigned to it. Something that cheered Ash up was his capture of a Buneary and a Rotom... something else that cheered him up was needing to get his Pokemon all up to level 50 to defeat Fantina in Hearthome City. Ash really wanted to defeat her with only his Sinnoh Pokemon and give them a chance to shine.

Getting his Pokemon to level 50 meant one thing...

Battles... glorious battles... and lots of 'em.

While training, Ash's Prinplup evolved into Empoleon, Gabite evolved into Garchomp, Snover evolved into an Abomasnow, Hakamo-o evolved into Kommo-o, and Snorunt was evolved into Froslass.

After achieving his training goals, Ash flew to Hearthome City.

* * *

Ash was excited to finally battle Fantina and hopefully win his third gym badge. And then Ash discovered that the gym was closed and that the Gym Leader was gone 'on a long journey.' Ash sighed and decided to go to Mt. Coronet and level up and evolve his Nosepass and Magneton before travelling to Veilstone City... he was going to do that later but he had time for it now.

Evolving the two Pokemon only took Ash a few hours since Magneton was kept close to leveling again and Ash had even caught and released a Chingling during that time, but after that and after having over trained his Sinnoh team, Ash decided to train his Hoenn Pokemon too while maintaining and slowly leveling up his Sinnoh team.

Ash had just easily beaten Maylene, the Veilstone City Gym Leader, and was awarded his badge and prize money when he noticed that Maylene looked sad and humiliated.

"Don't look so sad," Ash said gently. "You actually did pretty good considering that my Pokemon were level 50. You would have done better if I hadn't prepared to battle Fantina before realizing that she wasn't at her Gym." Maylene nodded. "Teaching your Pokemon some moves to cover their weaknesses would help too or you can develop a strategy to reduce or remove them. Or maybe even both. Being a Gym Leader or a member of the Elite Four is a tough job."

"Thank you," Maylene said gratefully.

* * *

After beating a guy named Sho, with Pikachu sweeping his entire team after he insulted him, Ash had heard the location of Cynthia, the Sinnoh Region Champion, and Ash was eager to battle her. Battling another champion wasn't an opportunity that Ash could just pass up, and once he had chosen his desired team, he teleported away to her location.

When Ash arrived near Cynthia, the physically perfect champion of Sinnoh, he was just about to state his challenge and then Paul beat him to it; causing Ash to groan in annoyance and attract the attention of Paul who smirked at Ash.

"Don't look so cocky. I'll just challenge her after she sweeps your entire team with a single Pokemon. You should be used to that by now." Paul glared angrily at Ash while people laughed at Paul before beginning the battle.

Paul's Chimchar was quickly beaten, and then insulted by the arrogant jerk.

Paul's Weavile and Murkrow were both one-hit like low-level trash.

Paul's second powerful Pokemon, a Torterra, was also one-hit and Paul forfeited amidst laughter and mockery from the audience.

Ash approached Cynthia. "Do you still have time for a five-on-five Pokemon battle, or a Full Battle with substitutions?" Ash asked, and Cynthia instantly recognized him.

"I can do five-on-five with substitutions," Cynthia replied. "I heard that you defeated Steven Stone's Mega Aggron and one hit his Mega Metagross with your Charizard without even Mega Evolving it, and I _definitely _need a real challenge." Ash noticed that several people looked shocked by that reveal.

"I'll be all too happy to provide with one," Ash replied, mildly annoyed by that reveal.

"Go Lucario!" Cynthia said, going with her second strongest.

"Go Charizard!" Ash said.

Cynthia allowed Ash to have the first move, much to Ash's annoyance. Ash ordered Charizard to use Fire Spin, but Cynthia had it countered with Psychic and Rock Slide which Ash had Charizard destroy with Flare Blitz and then use Flamethrower. Again, Cynthia had it countered with Psychic. Ash ordered Charizard to use Blast Burn and then follow it up with Flare Blitz; obscuring Charizard while dealing damage to Lucario and then letting Charizard deal more with his second attack. Lucario was left unable to battle, much to the nearby people's shock.

"Go Spiritomb!" Cynthia said.

Ash returned Charizard and sent out his Gardevoir, deciding that Charizard should save his strength for other battles.

"Use Hypnosis!" Cynthia ordered.

"Dodge and use Misty Terrain!" Ash replied, and then the battle began. Gardevoir used Moonblast, which was met by Shadow Ball, but Ash had Imprison snuck through to hinder Spiritomb further. That shifted the battle to his favor and stripped Spiritomb of several moves. "Restrain Spiritomb and use Moonblast." Ash thought that he heard Cynthia say something to Spiritomb, but he wasn't certain.

Spiritomb was severely damaged, but it took one more Moonblast to defeat it.

"Your Pokemon are at a very high level and all very well trained, Ash. I can see how you defeated Steven and only lost one Pokemon during the battle... Steven was very annoyed by that defeat." Cynthia said, blabbing more about Ash's true power and skill.

"He's a type specialist, and I did my research and brought my best Pokemon to the battle." Ash replied, still wanting people to under-estimate him.

Cynthia sent out her Togekiss next, and after briefly thinking Ash sent out his Electivire. Cynthia was already considering substituting Togekiss for her Gastrodon, but Cynthia might need her later.

"Extreme Speed!" Cynthia ordered.

Ash watched his Electivire get pushed back some and had it use Thunder Punch, which was evaded and countered with an Aura Sphere that knocked Electivire back. Ash waited for the next attack and then had Electivire use Discharge and follow it up with a Thunder Punch that only briefly connected. After a few more Aura Sphere's and Cynthia's Togekiss using Extreme Speed to horribly annoy both Ash and his Electivire, they both grew annoyed and Ash had Electivire use Thunder on the entire battlefield... Togekiss was left unable to battle.

Cynthia and Ash both returned their Pokemon. Electivire needed to save its remaining strength saved for Cynthia's Milotic. This also put Cynthia at even more of a disadvantage and forced her to fight blind at first. Cynthia smirked at Ash, knowing what he was doing and waited, forcing Ash to take the disadvantage. Ash sent out his Charizard and Cynthia her Gastrodon.

Cynthia was very concerned when her opponent smirked.

"Blast Burn!" Ash ordered, actually causing Cynthia to be briefly relieved. Ash wanted the ground around Gastrodon's feet super-heated and unsafe to walk on. Why? For this! "Use Solar Beam!" The Solar Beam went through the smoke and heat and struck the unaware Gastrodon, leaving it unable to battle.

Cynthia returned her defeated Gastrodon, truly shocked at how this went. Ash relied on over-whelming power, skill, and strategy. Cynthia was very impressed!

"You are going to dominate the Lily of the Valley conference," Cynthia admitted, to the nearby trainers shock. "I've never forfeited a battle... until now. I can't beat you, but I will be training to do so in the future." Cynthia said, garnering even more shock from those watching and listening.

"I look forward to the challenge," Ash said, before returning his Charizard.

Ash noticed that Paul, who lost to Cynthia, was walking away without having his Pokemon treated and Ash was just about to say something, but Ash beat him to it. Thankfully Cynthia actually stopped Paul; being respected by Paul helped greatly with that.

Ash opted to join them; needing to heal his Pokemon anyway, and maybe even flirt with the lovely Cynthia.

Ash was doing just that, but was sensing that Cynthia was flattered but unwilling to flirt back or date. Sadly, Ash opted to abandon his flirtation and resigned himself to getting to know her until he was legal, and then flirting with her.

After they all learned that Nurse Joy was in surgery, Ash invited them all to his private island to make use of his personal Pokemon Center and teleported them all there. Dawn decided to tag along, having watched both battles.

Ash and his other guests were all admiring his well trained and well taken care of Pokemon.

"This island has my own Pokemon and also functions as a League sanctioned preserve for Pokemon and a refuge for abused Pokemon, so no trying to catch them. I won't hesitate to press charges." With that harsh warning; directed at Paul and which visibly disappointed Paul, Ash lead them into his private Pokemon Center.

"You have a very nice home, Ash." Cynthia said politely.

"Thank you, Cynthia. I personally invested a lot of time and effort into it and its features." Ash replied. "This is my Pokemon Center. Please place any Pokemon that need medical attention into the slots and they will be healed in order of priority."

It seemed that Paul's Pokemon were in the worst shape due to fighting at a major disadvantage and taking major damage, and Paul took this opportunity to insult his Chimchar.

"Actually, Paul, your Chimchar is quite powerful despite its low level. It also has a mutation in its Blaze ability that can grant it even greater power... if you can learn to draw out Chimchar's full potential and guide him through controlling it." Ash said.

"And just how do I do that?" Paul asked rather snidely.

"It requires a bond of trust and friendship as well as decent levels and self-control on Chimchar's part." Ash replied, but Ash doubted that Paul could ever draw out Chimchar's full potential and Paul's scoff proved that. "Bonds _are _required to unlock a Pokemon's full power and full potential, and that includes Mega-Evolution; otherwise you might just die at your own Pokemon's hands. I'm not saying that training is unimportant; _that _would stupid, but forming a bond while also training them to greater levels of power has yielded great results for all who've tried that method." Ash felt he was making great progress in convincing Paul until he just rolled his eyes.

"You just keep doing things your way. I'll become stronger in anyway I choose." Paul replied, trying to end that topic. It was ruined by Ash laughing and angering Paul. "What's so funny?" Paul asked angrily.

"You have _one _Pokemon that's Elite Four-level, and that's your Torterra. Your oldest and most powerful Pokemon all seem ironically under-trained despite your professed beliefs in power and strength. If I had to guess, you're sabotaging yourself somehow. To have just one Elite Four-level Pokemon after roughly four years means you're either severely sabotaging yourself or are just a mediocre trainer. What's your highest placing in a conference?"

"Top 16," Paul replied in annoyance.

"How many times have you placed Top 16 out of three?"

"Once," Paul said gritting his teeth.

"Okay... that's terrible." Ash replied, provoking a stream of insults from Paul and once Paul's Pokemon were healed Ash had him teleported to Sandgem Town... Ash _verbally _ordered Alakazam to send him back to where he was, but _telepathically _ordered that Paul be sent there for his insults.

Dawn was sent away next.

"Alone at last..." Ash said to Cynthia flirtatiously, causing her to laugh.

"I thought you stopped flirting when I wasn't receptive," Cynthia commented with a smile.

"I did. I'll just woo you until I'm legal age instead..."

"Oh?" Cynthia asked in amusement.

"Yes... I will woo you like no one in the history wooing has been wooed." Ash said, causing Cynthia to laugh again. Ash could get used to that sound.

"You're very handsome and I'm not opposed to dating you in the future, but I hope you know where the line is. I won't have you using inappropriate pick-up lines, behaving inappropriately, or giving inappropriate gifts." Cynthia said in warning.

"I would never do that. Is giving you a Mega Stone and Key Stone considered an inappropriate gift?" Ash asked.

"Excessive, but not inappropriate," Cynthia replied. "Can you afford to do that?" She asked, not wanting him giving her extravagant gifts to be the norm.

"I actively search for the stones and I have collected 10 Lucarionite and 9 Garchompite, so I can easily give you those. I have no intention of trying to buy your affection, but I know that the stones are practical gifts that you would likely appreciate... and they would also give you a greater edge in battles."

"Okay. Then I guess I'll accept your gifts," Cynthia said with a smile.

"I'm glad," Ash replied, and went to get Cynthia the Mega Stones and matching Key Stones.

Cynthia left once her Pokemon were cleared to travel and also declined Ash's invite to dinner when she learned of the Lustrous Orb being discovered. Ash was very understanding and teleported her to near Celestic Town before returning to his own journey.

Hopefully Ash would actually face some more challenges.


	16. Chapter 16

**Review Responses:**

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah, I'm not a fan of Paul in case you can't tell.

**picnic990:** Necessity required that he overcome that educational failing. Harry mentally taxed himself too achieve that, in canon he did fine in Potions without Snivellous harassing him. In my story he simply did earlier and used his natural aptitude in DADA and memory retention in History of Magic. It took him _years_, not a year.

**Spectrer:** Yeah, if Cynthia doesn't fall in love with Ash then she'll at least fall in love with parts of him.

**John50:** Ash looks exactly as he does in canon apart from being more fit; a martial artist/swimmers build. Delia still gets Ash his clothes as his mother.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Thought you might get a kick out of that.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks.

**Lezaroth:** Pikachu, Charizard, and Ash's Red Gyarados compete for dominance and remain roughly equal in power. I don't do hold items for that very reason, Ash's Pokemon would be extra OP. I always saw Paul as being unduly arrogant and ignorant about Pokemon's inner nature. If someone or something loves you then they fight and try harder for you because of that bond. I think that's why Ash has done so well despite poorly trained Pokemon in canon and this Ash realizes that too. A lot of gyms are poorly managed, but Misty had her dimwitted sisters in charge as she went too pursue her dream, Brock had his father and brother too take over, and I get your feelings about Flannery; she was improperly trained by her grandfather. I dislike Erika and Volkner more; they outright refused to do their duty. Yes, Ash has those three. You'll have to wait and see what Ash does to Team Galactic.

**Dylan-A-Friend: **Thanks.

* * *

Ash was nearing the Pastoria City Gym and he was reflecting on his recent successes... Ash had beaten Cynthia, the Sinnoh Region Champion, Riolu had finally evolved into Lucario, and Ash had gotten all of his Pokemon up to level 55 while still training his Hoenn Pokemon. Ash was _very _productive while traveling.

Ash entered the Pastoria City Gym and stated his challenge... it quickly began.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle for the Fin Badge with no substitutions! The first trainer to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle!" The referee said. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon."

"Go Gyarados!" Crasher said.

"Go Abomasnow!" Ash replied.

"You may have the first move, Ash," Crasher said.

"Grass Whistle," Ash ordered and he watched as Gyarados was put to sleep. "Use a continuous Razor Leaf to beat Gyarados." Ash didn't like such a brutal beatdown, but it produced the desired effect a minute later.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Crasher send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said.

Crasher sent out his Floatzel next and tried having it use Ice Fang, but that was quickly halted by Grass Whistle and Floatzel was beaten with a single Wood Hammer attack.

"Floatzel is unable to battle! Crasher send out your final Pokemon!" The referee said.

"Go Quagsire! Use Sludge Bomb!"

"Counter with Icy Wind and Razor Leaf!" Ash ordered, using a rather simple combination to counter the Sludge Bomb and slightly damage Quagsire after cutting through Quagsire's attack. "Grass Whistle," Ash ordered, liking the idea of another team sweep. A few more Razor Leaf's and Quagsire was unable to battle.

"Quagsire is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Ash and Crasher returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battlefield.

"I present you with the Fen Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 4000 Poke dollars will also be transferred into your account." Crasher said.

"Thanks," Ash replied before leaving.

* * *

After training some more and winning his fifth badge off a lesser Gym Leader, Ash learned of the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition... and Death suggested that Ash go for his own good. Ash thankfully had plenty of time to challenge Byron... but Ash _really _wanted to leave early.

As a compromise Ash had his level 70 Flareon sweep Byron's entire team to get that over with.

After arriving and registering for the tournament, Ash was given a piece of paper with a number on it and went to find his partner for the competition.

Unfortunately for Ash that partner was Paul who was being rude, aggressive, and disrespectful as usual.

"What's your problem?" Ash asked in annoyance.

"I have you for a partner!"

"That's a good thing. I can do all the work and you can be useless and plot your next huge embarrassing failure while I win the tournament for you. I'm the only one of us who has a genuine reason to be angry... I'm paired with a mediocre trainer who's never placed beyond Top 16!" Ash was loud when he said that, adding to Paul's humiliation. "Just relax, take notes, and be nice, Paul."

Ash and Paul were first pitted against two trainers with a Magmar and Rhyhorn.

Paul sent out his Chimchar and Ash sent out his Typhlosion. Paul wanted to power Chimchar up with fire attacks so Ash had his Typhlosion one-hit Rhyhorn with a Solar Beam, leaving Rhyhorn unable to battle and shocking Paul, their opponents, and the viewers with Typhlosion's speed in generating such an attack and its sheer power.

After Chimchar was powered up and was unable to deal the finishing blow, Ash had his Typhlosion blast Magmar into a wall with Hyper Beam and causing Paul to glare at Ash.

"Just stay out of my way! Chimchar could have beaten that Magmar!" Paul said before returning Chimchar and walking away.

"Not without severely injuring himself and you should take your own advice, amateur hour!" Ash replied.

Ash resigned himself to monitoring Paul, his thoughts of brutally training Chimchar were very concerning, and Ash kept an eye out for abuse. Ash recording it would later prove to be a very wise decision on his part.

Paul would use potentially lethal force upon Chimchar. A Hyper Beam from Paul's Torterra, Thunder from Elekid, Focus Blast from Ursaring, and a Shadow Ball from Murkrow. Chimchar could have suffered major damage to his vital organs, damage his ability to produce fire attacks, become crippled, or even all of the above. Having acquired the evidence, Ash showed it to Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Professors Rowan and Oak.

"It's concerning that I've missed this; there is a clear disregard for his Pokemon's lives, health, and long-term well-being. Furthermore, Paul hasn't even made any notable achievement or progress with a collection of Pokemon which implies that he discards them, that some may have died, or have been abandoned while injured. There is no proof of it though so Chimchar can only be take from him and Paul can be placed under watch and probation while an investigation begins." Rowan said. "He has a previous warning on his record too."

Ash, Joy, Jenny, and Professor Oak all nodded.

"I'll check the others for signs of abuse; emotional, mental, and physical," Joy said sadly.

"I'll question Paul with a Psychic-type on-hand to verify his answers, but this will also remove Ash and Paul from the tag battle competition," Jenny added, glancing at Ash to see his reaction.

"That doesn't matter," Ash replied. "I could win it alone if I wanted, but I'm far more concerned about Paul's Pokemon's well-being."

"Perhaps you could take custody of Chimchar," Rowan suggested, to Oak's approval. "You have a history of rehabilitating abused Pokemon or delegating the responsibility where needed. Your test scores were truly perfect and you could probably become a human and Pokemon Doctor if you really wanted too."

"I can do that," Ash agreed, not minding the task. Chimchar had a lot of potential that Ash could unlock.

The call was ended and Officer Jenny and Ash left to get Paul.

They arrived minutes later... Jenny and Ash wasted no time in approaching Paul and his group of Pokemon.

"Paul?" Jenny asked, causing Paul to become nervous. "You are under arrest for Pokemon abuse." Paul knew better than to resist, but he was enraged.

"You went crying to Officer Jenny because I was mean to you?" Paul asked mockingly, looking at Ash.

"No. I informed Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and Professor Rowan of your endangering of Chimchar's life with potentially lethal attacks from _multiple _Pokemon. You're under probation, watch, and your Trainer License might even be suspended or revoked. For the record your rudeness is more sad and pathetic than actually offensive; especially since everyone knows what a failure you are."

"Please return your Pokemon, Paul," Jenny said firmly.

Paul snorted in derision, but he obeyed the order and handed them to Officer Jenny and allowed himself to be taken into custody.

"Ketchum, you may take his Pokemon to Nurse Joy and carry out Professor Rowan's orders," Jenny said.

"Will do," Ash replied.

It turned out that Paul's Pokemon had all been abused, but they were also fully healed afterward and Paul had released some Pokemon while they were badly injured. Paul saw nothing wrong with his behavior and he referred to it as his method of training... Officer Jenny and the Pokemon League were neither amused nor impressed, and Paul was put on five years probation and would be monitored by a league official assigned to travel with him.

Chimchar would be fine and he would merely require a days rest and though Paul would be infuriated to learn that Chimchar was 'taken' from him, his new babysitter would explain that Paul was deemed a threat to Chimchar's life and that Paul was lucky not to be in prison for ten years or more.

As for the tag battle competition, Dawn and Conway both won.

"Congratulations Dawn, Conway," Ash said politely.

"Thanks Ash!" Dawn replied.

"Yes. Thank you," Conway said. "Pity that we couldn't battle you and your partner."

"Yes. Battling you two would have been interesting and fun." Ash agreed. "Paul abused his Pokemon and he put his Chimchar's life in danger while trying to force out its full potential. I'll be rehabilitating Chimchar and training him myself. It also removed me as a side-effect but it was worth it to save an innocent Pokemon." Ash paused. "Besides, it wouldn't have been fair to anyone if I used two of my Pokemon and competed without a partner," Ash added teasingly.

"We would have beaten you," Dawn said. "Conway is a great trainer and strategist!"

"I know. I study my opponents." Ash replied. "Seriously though, I would have won. I was using my older and infinitely more powerful Pokemon to keep my Sinnoh team under wraps. But yes, Conway is a great trainer and strategist. Which, I assure you, means a lot coming from a trainer of my level. Elite Four or maybe even Champion-level potential for your boyfriend there."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Dawn replied, as she and Conway blushed.

"Is he a _boy_?" Ash asked.

"Yes..." Dawn replied in mild confusion.

"Is he your _friend_?"

"Yes..."

"So he's your boyfriend," Ash said, causing Dawn to look annoyed. "Okay, enough teasing. I just wanted to congratulate you both and wish you luck in the future."

"Thanks!" Dawn replied.

"Thank you," Conway replied.

After saying their goodbyes, Ash had Alakazam teleport him back to Canalave City.

* * *

With Ash's knowledge, he quickly realized that the level 47 Chimchar had a mental block preventing his evolution; his doubts about Paul caring for him, distrust of Paul, resentment of Paul, and Chimchar's own mild fear of his own great latent power. Ash not only helped Chimchar past his trauma but had also evolved Chimchar into a mighty Infernape that was level 65.

A testament to Infernape's power was that he had only just recently swept the Gym Leader Candice's entire team and only had any trouble with her Medicham. Infernape wanted to prove himself to Ash and he did. Ash was _very _proud of him.

Infernape also battled Regigigas and barely defeated it, but did defeat a shiny Metagross that Ash caught afterward.

After that, it was back to training for Ash's eighth and final gym badge and traveling to work on the Pokedex while heading towards Sunnyshore City...

Ash had just caught a territorial Aggron when he received a call on his Xtransceiver... it was Professor Rowan.

"Hello, Professor," Ash said politely.

"Hello, Ash. I was wondering if you would be attending a Pokémon Summer Academy that I'm hosting."

"Sorry, no. I'm too busy and I'm focused on training what could be my strongest team for a first conference team. Sorry Professor, but Sinnoh is on my list of essential conference wins and I've got a lot of momentum going for me." Ash replied.

Rowan nodded in understanding. "I saw the entry of you catching Regigigas and a shiny Metagross, very impressive."

"Thanks. I try keeping my eyes and ears open for Legendaries, rares, and shiny Pokemon." Ash replied. "I do appreciate the invite though, but I can't make it."

"I understand. You want to train, battle, and catch Pokemon." Rowan said.

After saying their goodbyes, Ash continued on his journey... only interrupting his progress when hearing about a Darkrai and Cresselia in Canalave City, both of which Ash battled and caught, and caught another Metagross that was causing trouble.

* * *

With his Pokemon at level 70 Ash was ready to battle Volkner and was already resigned to a possible easy victory.

"I've come for a gym battle," Ash informed the computer. Ash was annoyed when a hatch opened and he saw that it contained a lot of Gym Badges... Ash responded by hacking the gym to speak with the Gym Leader.

"Yes?" A voice asked in annoyance.

"I've come for a gym battle, not to be given badges," Ash said.

"I don't battle anymore."

"Then you're in the wrong profession, but until you officially resign I expect a battle," Ash replied, annoyed by Volkner's refusal.

"No." Volkner replied.

"Did you start giving badges away when every new trainer beat you with their new starters?" Ash asked mockingly.

The response was an angry silence.

"Or did you just lose so much that giving away badges seemed like the logical away to avoid suffering a humiliating defeat every day?"

"Did you develop performance issues?" Ash asked, smirking.

"I'll battle you and defeat you... once you're done wasting my time you won't be so cocky." Volkner replied.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, three time conference champion, and the only reason that I didn't just take a badge is because I actually have some dignity and self-respect..." Having said that and having shocking Volkner in the process, Ash entered the gym and went to the battlefield.

"This will be a four-on-four Pokemon battle for the Beacon Badge with no substitutions! The first trainer to lose three Pokemon will lose the battle!" The referee said. "Trainers send out your first Pokemon."

"Go Luxray!"

"Go Garchomp!"

"Use Double Team and then Iron Tail!" Volkner ordered.

"Sandstorm to destroy the copies," Ash said and the copies were erased. "Now, Dragon Claw!" Garchomp struck Luxray, causing to cry out before getting launched into a wall from the force behind the blow.

"Luxray is unable to battle! Gym Leader Volkner, please send out your next Pokemon."

Volkner sent out Jolteon next but it didn't stand a chance... Garchomp tanked a Shadow Ball before quickly defeating Jolteon with Dragon Rush.

"Go Electivire! Use Ice Punch!"

"Use Dig!" Ash ordered, and his Garchomp quickly tunneled into the ground. "Use Sandstorm!" Garchomp obeyed and Electivire had its sight significantly hindered. "Now! Surface and use Dragon Rush!" Ash said and Garchomp happily obeyed, knocking Electivire back but not defeating it. "Barrage it with Dragon Claws!"

"Electivire is unable to battle! Gym Leader Volkner, please send out your final Pokemon."

"You're doing a great job defeating me!" Ash said sarcastically.

Volkner smirked. "I didn't expect to lose this badly, I'll admit that. My Raichu should defeat your Garchomp though."

"Don't feel too bad. I've been sweeping the teams of Gym Leaders with one Pokemon per gym." Ash replied, shocking Volkner. "Honestly? You should just forfeit. I have four Pokemon left to your one and you'll only be causing your Raichu to suffer needlessly."

Volkner thought about it before surrendering.

"Well, I'm pleasantly surprised. I was bored of all the easy victories and it turned out that I was easily beaten by a trainer that I wouldn't have battled under normal circumstances. I'll get stronger though and then I will be accepting any future challenges." Volkner said as Ash returned his Garchomp and walked to meet in the center of the battlefield.

"I present you with the Beacon Badge, proof of your victory over me, and and 8000 Poke dollars will also be transferred into your account." Volkner said.

"Thanks, Volkner. I hope you get some good battles soon." Ash replied.

After saying their goodbyes, Ash departed the Sunyshore City Gym.

After having his Pokemon checked-out and healed, Ash trusted his instincts and then traveled by foot some more... it paid off quite well.

Ash caught a Heatran that knew Eruption... it was a hard battle considering Heatran's high level but Ash managed to catch it.

* * *

Ash now had seven months to train for the Lily of the Valley Conference... Naturally, Ash focused solely on training. All of his Sinnoh Pokemon were now at level 100 and that made Ash very very proud. At this rate, Ash would have plenty of extremely powerful Pokemon to choose from and that he could use to win him further championships. Sadly Ash was requested by Death to intervene in Celestic Town and protect the Lustrous Orb from Team Galactic.

Ash was truly fortunate that he had made the purging of criminal organizations an art form.

Ash scouted the buildings near the Historical Research Center for Team Galactic members, catching one allowed him to learn and then counter any plans that they had.

Ash ended up catching dozens of the losers, and some were on the actual Research Center's property. Ash was extremely pleased with himself and had even lifted the name of Team Galactic's leader from Saturn's mind. That made destroying Team Galactic all too easy for Ash.

It took Ash a mere few days to slaughter the entire team... killing thousands, ripping knowledge from their minds, taking resources, assets, and secrets. None survived Ash's brutal purge.

Imagine Ash's surprise when Death spoke to him once more, but to reward him.

_"You have done better then even we expected, Ash. None of them draw breath and they can do more evil to this world and to its inhabitants..."_ Death spoke._ "But now, for purging an entire nation of evil, we give you a great reward... an Arceus from a world that was recreated by Cyrus, and also a Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Phione, Manaphy, Shaymin, Bonsly, Mime Jr., Happiny, Chingling, Munchlax, Leafeon, and a Glaceon. Once your Buneary evolves into Lopunny you will have completed the Sinnoh Pokedex."_

"Thank you. What happened to this other world though?"

_"It was erased and the surviving Pokemon will all be relocated, but those worlds already had their own native Legendaries so we awarded many to you. These captures were registered within your Pokedex and spaced out to keep Professor Rowan ignorant. Legendaries can be captured, but capturing the primary Pokemon with duties is considered an unforgivable crime... a crime which only two have done. Rick has died but we have one more task for you in Sinnoh... you must battle another user of Legendary Pokemon and this user will die if he loses and his Legendary Pokemon will all be freed. Humans used to respect the Legendaries but they have forgotten to and have subjugated them for trivial battles against each other... an example must be made and you, Chosen One, shall be our sword and shield and will remind the humans that the Legends are not their toys."_

In another world where Ash wasn't a reincarnation of Harry Potter, he would have refused, but not in this world... "I will strive to defeat this opponent and free the Pokemon then."

Having said and done all it needed too, Death withdrew from Ash's mind.

It was back to training for Ash now and he intended to strengthen his Pokemon even further...

It was during this time that Buneary had _finally _evolved and Ash had finally completed the Pokedex... _national _completion of the Pokedex. That was a huge accomplishment for Ash and was one that Ash would be able to fully celebrate after the Lily of the Valley Conference was done.

It was with great eagerness that Ash left to compete in the Lily of the Valley Conference.


	17. Chapter 17

**Review Responses:**

**Lezaroth:** I actually thought hard about doing that, but decided that would be hypocritical of Ash. Ash's Arceus won't appear in this chapter. I'm glad that you like that Alt Legendaries are being awarded to Ash, it was a tough choice for me since that universes legends needed to be preserved as much as possible. I felt that Paul was deeply flawed and cruel, but not beyond redemption or incapable of adapting his training style. Manaphy got away on its own. The Pokemon Rangers exist, but they're relatively useless good guys. The Jewel of Life thing was something that I had forgotten, but Arceus learned the truth and undid his negative actions.

**The reaper of death445:** Thanks and I generally try too update everyday.

**Yaw6113, Dylan-A-Friend, buterflypuss: Thanks.**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Glad you like the story.

* * *

The screening rounds of the Lily of the Valley Conference thankfully didn't take very long... Ash just had his Pokemon sweep his opponents teams.

Ash, Conway, Nando, and Paul had all made it to the preliminaries... so did Tobias, the one who exploited Legendary Pokemon. The lighting of the flame was just performed and the announcer began speaking...

"And with the lighting of the Sinnoh League flame, the Lily of the Valley Sinnoh League is officially under way! And now its time to announce the Sinnoh League first round match ups... so here they are!" The announcer said.

"Conway, Nando, do you both see the guy in the red coat and grey-ish hair?" Ash asked from between his two acquaintances.

"Yeah..." Conway replied.

"He has a Darkrai, Latios, Latias, Entei, Raikou, all three Legendary Birds, and a Cresselia... So try to plan ahead for that." Ash said.

Both nodded gratefully and agreed to plan ahead.

**Later...**

Ash defeated Nando using only his Infernape and his next opponent, advancing to the Top 16.

In the Top 16 Paul defeated some annoying kid named Barry, advancing to the Top 8, and Ash harshly dealt Conway a shocking and humbling defeat after Conway showed some arrogance.

Ash would battle Paul tomorrow, but Ash was relaxing until then. He was soon joined by Cynthia.

"Have you already chosen your Pokemon for tomorrow's battle?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah. I'll have to be extra thorough to show Paul how flawed his training methods are by dealing him a very humiliating defeat. He should only need one last push to abandon his abusive and ineffective methods..."

"Yeah. I heard about the trouble he was in. How is Chimchar doing?"

"He's an Infernape now," Ash replied. "I was able to build him up into a major powerhouse after helping him past some of his mental blocks."

"That's good," Cynthia agreed. "What about Tobias? I saw the look of disdain that you gave him."

"I'll crush him like the bug he is," Ash replied coldly.

"Why do you dislike him so much?" Cynthia asked in interest and mild concern.

"Tobias exploits the powers of Legendaries to win badges, money, and tournaments... I suspect that at least one of them is a primary with duties that it is unable to fulfill. I have Legendaries too, don't misunderstand, but I don't use them for personal gain. I train them mostly, but I have a breeding pair of Legendary Birds. The Legendaries that I've caught can request or demand their freedom at any time. I intend to defeat Tobias and possibly campaign to outlaw all Legendary Pokemon from competitive battling. So far all Tobias has done is exploit the power of Legendary Pokemon to defeat children and destroy their dreams. It's all Darkrai doing the work so far. The Legendary Pokemon, several of which endangered species, all deserve better than to be exploited for Gym Badges and money... if enough of them die then those species will be extinct or it will become a mere matter of time until they do. All trainers have a responsibility to look out for Pokemon and to treat them well."

"You're right. I suppose most people just take the Legendary Pokemon for granted and assume that they will always be there or they just consider them Pokemon to be caught." Cynthia replied. "I'm sure the Pokemon League will listen to such a logical and wise argument."

"I hope so," Ash replied.

"What will you do after this conference?" Cynthia asked.

"Train, plan, and acquire my Pokemon in advance for the Unova League," Ash replied. "I'm only getting four Pokemon from Unova at present. I'm just not very impressed by the potential of most of the regions native Pokemon."

"And you'll train them to a high level very fast as a side-effect," Cynthia pointed out.

"Yes and I'll be training my older Pokemon too. After Kalos I'm going to settle down and challenge Arius for his title... maybe Lance too if he just wants to free up his schedule." Ash replied.

Cynthia excused herself to retire early.

* * *

It was time for Ash and Paul's battle, and Ash was eager to crush him but he was also exercising caution... overconfidence could end Ash's winning streak.

For his first Pokemon Paul sent out his Aggron and Ash sent out Infernape who glared angrily at Paul. Paul returned Aggron and sent out his Gastrodon.

Ash concealed the smirk and had Infernape use Solar Beam, blasting Gastrodon back and leaving it unable to battle... Paul was shocked, but Ash just smiled. That Gastrodon just wasn't quite strong enough for the big leagues.

Paul's Ninjask was beaten next with Ash predicting where it would be and having Infernape attack there and then Infernape used Stealth Rock to weaken Paul's next Pokemon.

Paul sent out his Drapion next, taking damage from Stealth Rock, Paul had Drapion use Toxic Spikes... but Ash merely rolled his eyes before having Infernape use Stone Edge to brutally beat down Drapion.

"Drapion is unable to battle! Since Paul has lost three Pokemon we will take a short break!" The referee announced.

After a short break, Ash and Paul's battle continued with Electivire being sent out...

Electivire took damage from Stealth Rock and was hit with Gunk Shot and Will-O-Wisp before being blasted back by Stone Edge.

"Use Thunder!" Paul ordered. Electivire quickly obeyed and damaged Infernape quite badly.

"Rock Tomb!" Ash ordered calmly and had it followed up by another Stone Edge which was then combined with Blast Burn... Electivire was hit with Stone Edge and Blast Burn at the same time and not even Protect could withstand such overwhelming power and force.

"Electivire is unable to battle! Paul send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said.

Paul's Froslass and Aggron were both easily beaten and the battle ended with whimper and Paul saw and knew right then that his harsh methods weren't actually working.

* * *

Ash's next opponent was no challenge for him and was quickly beaten with Ash having no Pokemon faint... Ash's final obstacle for the championship was Tobias himself, but Ash would defeat Tobias. The large level disparity between his and Tobias' Pokemon would enable Ash to put them into the Pokemon Center for a few days or even weeks... It was unsavory, but necessary. It was time for the weak to grow stronger within safely structured limits... and not by exploiting the power of legendary Pokemon to pretend to be stronger. Besides... Tobias needed to learn some humility and be put in his proper place.

Now, it was time for the final battle of the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with substitutions allowed and will have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Sinnoh League, win one million Poke dollars and other prizes, and will gain the right to challenge the Elite Four and the reigning Champion, Cynthia." The announcer said.

"This battle is between Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, former champion of the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn leagues, and a world record holder for having won three league conferences in a row, three time national record holder for having one Pokemon fainting during Indigo Plateau Conference, and no Pokemon fainting during Silver conference... He's currently nationally ranked in the Top 20 trainers for his defeats of Steven Stone and recently Cynthia herself in a friendly battle, which she forfeited." The announcer paused for the applause and shock. "And his opponent, Tobias from our very own Sinnoh region, who won all eight badges and most of his matches with his Darkrai."

The referee took over from there. "This battle will be a full on six-on-six battle, with both trainers allowed unlimited substitutions and the battle will have no time limit. Furthermore, when one or both trainers lose three Pokemon, there will be a short intermission." The referee said and Ash and Tobias both nodded in understanding.

"Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee said. Tobias sent out his Darkrai and Ash sent out his Blaziken.

Everyone, _literally everyone_, was surprised when Arceus appeared.

"The loser of this battle, who is so outclassed that it is quite pathetic will die for his crimes. The Legendary Pokemon that I've created are not for trainers to use in battles for money, badges, or in tournaments. They have duties that interrupting is _unforgivable_. Legendary Pokemon will no longer be used for competition... if this practice continues then Pokemon will be removed from this world entirely." Having made this grand announcement, Arceus bathed Ash and Tobias in a light and commanded that the battle begin before vanishing.

"Battle begin!" The referee said nervously.

"Dark Void!" Tobias ordered and Ash let it hit...

Blaziken was unaffected, much to the shock of most watching.

"Nice try, amateur hour!" Ash replied mockingly. "Brick Break!"

"Dar-" Tobias tried speaking, but Darkrai was quickly punched into a wall... unable to battle. Almost everyone was shocked by how easily Darkrai was beaten... but none more than Tobias.

"H-how?!"

"There called levels, Toby! Well, that, and exploiting the power of legendaries isn't a viable substitute for actual skill." Ash said, to Tobias' anger and a lot of peoples amusement.

"Go Cresselia!"

"Return Blaziken," Ash replied. "Go Absol! Use Mean Look!"

With his prey trapped, Ash had Absol go on the attack and even added Perish Song to be redundant... it wasn't necessary.

"Cresselia is unable to battle! Tobias, send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Heatran! Use Stone Edge!"

"Counter!" Ash replied and Heatran took immense damage from that. "Water Pulse!"

Heatran countered with Magma Storm, which was evaded with Detect and followed up with Water Pulse and Dark Pulse... defeating Heatran.

"Heatran is unable to battle. Since Tobias has lost three Pokemon we will take a short break." The referee said.

"What is your problem with me?" Tobias asked, deciding to be mature and work this out.

"You're a thirty something man using Legendary Pokemon, endangered species, too destroy the dreams of ten and eleven year old children... You aren't even using any normal Pokemon. You're using all legendaries, exploiting their power that has little to do with you, and you're encouraging others to take a short cut just like you have. You're a symptom of a problem and you can't even say that your wins are truly a team effort. Your strategies are all basic and uninspired, and are consistent with those of experienced wild Pokemon. It's not just you. I encountered another trainer who exploited the power of legendaries and people mocked him to his face."

Tobias realized from Ash's tone that people were mocking him behind his back and sighed before walking away, knowing that there was no way to change their opinions about him. Tobias cared for his Pokemon and only caught the ones that he found impressive, but his dream of using Legendary Pokemon to achieve his dream of becoming champion wasn't appreciated or respected by others... Oh Tobias understood their feelings, but this was his dream. He was always fascinated by Legendary Pokemon and their powers and he empathized with those who had their own dreams ruined, but he had invested over twenty of his thirty-two years of life in this and he wasn't giving up. He would fight for his dream just as his opponents fought for theirs... and if he could find a way to survive this battle then he would add Arceus to his collection too.

The break ended and the battle continued...

And then Tobias made a colossal mistake... he sent out a Legendary Bird, Zapdos.

"Go Charizard!" Ash said.

Tobias ordered Zapdos to use Thunder, but was surprised that it had no effect. Charizard used Hyper Beam and followed it up with Giga Impact... and with Charizard being the equivalent of a level 217 Pokemon and having over 130 levels on Zapdos it wasn't a surprise to Ash that Zapdos was defeated.

"Zapdos is unable to battle! Tobias, send out your next Pokemon!"

Tobias was visibly shocked, but he only had his Legendary Birds left.

Moltres was defeated next, with its Ancient Power attack easily countered with Dragon Claw.

Tobias sent out his Articuno and had it use Blizzard, Hail, and Reflect in an attempt to prolong the battle and wear Charizard down, but he knew that his chances of victory were almost non-existent.

Unfortunately for Tobias, Ash simply had Charizard use Flare Blitz to reduce the effects of the Blizzard and Hail, and heavily damage Articuno in the process. But Ash wasn't done yet, he ordered a close ranged Flamethrower, blasting Articuno onto the ground albeit still able to battle.

"Blast Burn," Ash ordered calmly.

Tobias and the audience all watched as Tobias' dreams were destroyed by a single fateful Blast Burn... the last thing that Tobias' saw as he was turned into stone was his Articuno unconscious... The Poke Balls containing Tobias' Legendary Pokemon shattered and his Pokemon were rejuvenated and teleported away.

"Articuno is unable to battle! Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is the winner!"

"I hate to say something until it gets annoying, but Ash has done it again!" The announcer said. "This is Ash Ketchum's fourth championship win! Not only that, but Ash has also just matched his own previous accomplishment at the Silver Conference and none of his Pokemon have fainted during the entire Lily of the Valley Conference! This is his fourth league win in a row and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has become the first in history to achieve this."

"Ash has just set two more national records... No Pokemon fainted during the Lily of the Valley Conference. A national record. No Pokemon fainted during two League Conferences... a national and world record. The young mister Ketchum is a truly exceptional trainer!"

President Goodshow and the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia both came forward to present Ash with his winnings.

"Congratulations on winning the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash, and on continuing your historical winning streak." President Goodshow said.

"Congratulations, Ash," Cynthia said with a smile.

"I present you with your trophy; proof of your victory, and one million Poke dollars will be transferred into your account. Your winning the Lily of the Valley Conference grants you the right to challenge Sinnoh's Elite Four and Cynthia at any time you desire, and you will bear the title Champion of the Lily of the Valley Conference until next year." President Goodshow said.

* * *

After winning the Lily of the Valley Conference Ash was back in Pallet Town a million Poke dollars richer... and was training some more while spending time with his mother and his Pokemon. Ash had acquired a Druddigon, level 66, and freshly caught, an Axew, Deino, and Litwick. All were raised to a minimum of level 25 and evolved appropriately.

Ash's wealth had continued to grow and so had his plans... Legendary Pokemon would all soon be banned from official competitions due to Arceus' decree. The only complication was that 'Pyramid King' Brandon had refused to release his Regi Trio... Ash's Charizard made short work of Brandon's entire team in a six-on-one battle. Brandon was turned to stone by Arceus as punishment.

This also humiliated and discredited the Battle Frontier too.

Now, though, it was time for a party... a party to celebrate Ash's National Pokedex completion. Ash's mother Delia, Lance; the Johto Champion, Kanto _and _Orre Elite Four, and Dragon Master, Misty, of the Johto _and _Orre Elite Four, Leaf; Ash's childhood friend, Clair; of the Blackthorn City Gym, Steven Stone, Cynthia, May and Max, and even the legendary Blue Oak; the rival of the legendary Red himself. There was a lot of power contained within Professor Oak's Laboratory right now... and not just from the Legendary Pokemon that Ash had out.

"How did you catch Arceus?" Cynthia asked in surprise.

"He's not a primary so it only took a few days of constant battle," Ash replied, lying.

"And Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza?" Steven asked in awe.

"Resurrected from fossils; they _were _primaries, but had since been surpassed and replaced. They will be able to reclaim that position when the current strongest of them passes on." Ash said.

"Well, you're certainly a Dragon Master now," Lance added. "All of your dragons are all well trained and very powerful."

"Good. Then I can wear that cape that I got for the event." Ash replied, amusing Clair.

"You don't have to wear a cape just because you're a Dragon Master," Clair pointed out with a smile.

"Don't ruin this for me. It's a life choice and there is nothing wrong with it." Ash replied, amusing everyone listening.

Clair just smiled at Ash's antics.

That group of people broke up and they went to mingle with other people. Ash decided to go talk with May and Max.

"Congratulations on making the Top 4, Max. I was very impressed by you." Ash said.

"Thanks Ash," Max said. "Hestia really showed her strength in beating me though."

"I'm sure that you'll do better in your next conference," Ash said in reassurance, but he was very impressed that Max did so well against a Fire-type specialist being considered for the Elite Four. "I've actually caught some wild Pokemon that were causing trouble in Sinnoh that you can have, if you want."

"What kind of Pokemon?" May asked, hoping that some might appeal to her too.

"A Gyarados, level 55, Aggron, level 63, and a Metagross that's level 60. They were causing a lot of trouble but have all been taught better behavior while with me." May was disappointed, but Max was very interested.

"Can I meet them first?" Max asked.

"Sure," Ash replied.

Getting them from Oak's preserve didn't take more than a minute and the Pokemon were all eager to begin battling again and they happily accepted Max's offer to join his team.

May had befriended Ash's Pachirisu, Roserade, and Lopunny, and Ash asked them if they wanted to go with May and they agreed. Most were surprised that Ash would give away so many Pokemon in a day, but Ash's focus was his Pokemon's well-being after they did all they could together as trainer and Pokemon, and Ash told them that. Besides, May knew Roserade as a Roselia in Hoenn and they both knew each other pretty well.

Ash decided to talk with Leaf next.

"Hey, Leaf," Ash said, having not talked with her in a while.

"Hey, Ash," Leaf returned. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Ash returned. "How's your journey going?"

"I mostly train in Cerulean Cave nowadays and compete in smaller tournaments. I just don't like the idea of traveling through the other regions... I want to be well-known in Kanto and Johto. I haven't won the Kanto or Johto leagues yet, but I've placed Top 4 and Runner-up most recently. I enjoy training and spending time with my Pokemon the most though, but we need to test ourselves too." Leaf replied.

"All that matters is that you and your Pokemon are all happy with that," Ash said. "Adjusting to new regions and having to plan travel, training and meals, memorize maps, Pokemon locations, migration patterns, and concentrations of trainers can be very exhausting."

"How do you do all that?" Leaf asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"In my spare time while training and spending time with my mom and Pokemon. It's actually not a huge job; just more reviewing pre-existing data and tourist locations. Unova should actually be my easiest and most productive journey... I'll have my four pre-chosen Pokemon and train many of my older ones for when I quit traveling and challenge the Elite Four and Arius. The four Unova Pokemon will be over-powered for league conferences but much closer to my older ones in power."

"How much stronger can you get, Ash?" Leaf asked in shock.

"I intend to find out, Leaf. I intend to become the strongest of them all... so strong that I cannot be beaten at all; not even by groups of truly great trainers. _That's _my ultimate goal." Ash said, with both his passion and excitement bleeding through.

The party only lasted a few more hours but Ash enjoyed hanging out and talking with the people there... Ash and Blue agreed to battle in the future and Ash heard about how well the Orre League was doing from Misty and Lance, but no one had beaten the Orre Elite Four yet. Cynthia and Steven both wanted a rematch in the future.

The party was fun, but it had to end eventually.

After the private party, where Mew was cuddled with by the women and children of Pallet Town and Ash's most recent accomplishment was celebrated, Ash went to sleep... Most knew better than to wake him up... but there were a few exceptions...

_Pokemon thieves._

Ash was extremely paranoid and his magic had woken him up due to the alert charms and anti-theft spells placed upon his Pokemon and their Poke Balls. His Pokemon were soon safe and back in the Oak Corral and the thieves were bound, had all useful knowledge ripped from their minds, and then were sent away... where Ash killed them and destroyed the bodies..

It took him two more hours... two hours that were spent brutally murdering low lives in disguise, purging their influence and powerbase, and killing their clients and followers. Any stolen Pokemon were delivered to the nearest Officer Jenny and the poached Pokemon were all set free. It was a very productive two hours, but Ash was soon back to sleep... dreaming of his future adventures in Unova.


	18. Chapter 18

**Announcement: Due too the shortness of this chapter, 1579 words, I will be uploading chapter 18 and 19 today; August 15th, 2019. I may regret this due too there only being twenty-one chapters, but I believe in making it worth my readers wait however short it may be.**

**Review Responses:**

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah, Tobias was turned into actual stone, petrified as punishment for his crimes.

**Yaw613:** Thanks.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Glad you're so hyped, but remember that there are two chapters today and the Unova saga will be short.

**John50:** Ash will probably just kill them and Ash's alter-ego doesn't use Pokemon to kill evil doers. Yes, Ash is going to another country, but the Orange Islands are like Puerto Rico, part of the same country like Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn, but unincorporated and the others have minimal influence and interest there.

* * *

Ash had finally arrived in Unova, having decided to travel there with his mother and Professor Oak.

"We're here, Pikachu!" Ash said excitedly.

They began to walk away, but Pikachu seemed distracted.

Ash was the first to notice. "Professor, please take Pikachu inside with you. It senses a dangerous level of electricity that could negatively effect it and I have a theory about the source..."

"I can do that Ash, but be careful when you investigate."

Once Oak and Delia were inside, Ash trapped them both inside for safety. Ash sent out his Charizard and then he levitated into the air, flying toward what he suspected to be Zekrom. Ash ordered Charizard to use Hyper Beam upon the figure in the clouds, clearing up the storm and also getting the legends complete attention. Charizard got serious and hit Zekrom with Dragon Pulse and when that wasn't enough, he used Draco Meteor and blasted Zekrom real good, inflicting massive damage to it. It was followed up with Dragon Claw, Dragon Pulse, and then another Draco Meteor... finally defeating Zekrom.

Ash threw an Ultra Ball, catching Zekrom, and then waited for it to take... the capture was successful.

Ash returned Charizard and then went to rejoin his mother and Professor Oak.

"Are you alright?" Delia and Oak asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure why that Pokemon was acting like that... maybe it's territorial like Rayquaza and thought that it sensed something here. Still it could have been a threat and it caused a lot of damage."

They were interrupted by a very beautiful Professor, Professor Juniper, if Ash guessed right.

"Any idea why a Pokemon would want to destroy this place with a thunderstorm?" Ash asked once they were near Juniper's car.

"No. Do you know which Pokemon that it was?"

"No, I suspected that it was Zekrom and even thought I was fighting it, but it was defeated far too easily by my Charizard. Once it's healed, I'd like you to examine it." Juniper nodded okay.

When they arrived, no time was wasted and Ash let out his newly captured Pokemon.

"You said it was defeated easily?" Juniper asked while Zekrom was healed.

"Yeah. My Charizard is at a very high level, but if it was Zekrom then it would have been able to put up a good fight."

"Well, congratulations are in order. Your Charizard is powerful enough to easily defeat the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom. Your Charizard is at level 168..." Juniper said in surprise, shocking Professor Oak and Delia.

"Shouldn't Zekrom be at least level 100 and have an advantage due to its legendary status?" Ash asked. Spoiler alert, Ash was fishing for compliments out of boredom.

"This Zekrom is level 85, but no it was beaten pretty soundly it seems." Juniper replied.

"It's waking up!"

Ash sent out his Charizard as a precaution and summoned Mew to him. "I need you to translate for all of us." Mew nodded in understanding.

"Why did you try attacking the airport?" Ash asked.

_"He says that he didn't. He was merely viewing the area and that you misread his intentions and attacked him."_ Mew replied for Zekrom.

"He was raining down lightning and that lightning could have caused explosions or disabled or sabotaged planes..." Ash replied, angry at Zekrom's carelessness.

"He didn't intend too," Mew replied for it.

"I'll set him free, but he's learning Draco Meteor and some control first. Since I caught him, he's currently my responsibility." Zekrom looked displeased, but the human raised a good point. He could have caused a lot of damage and humans were strangely attached to their contraptions.

Zekrom agreed and was returned to his Poke Ball.

After receiving the Unova Pokedex and badge case, Ash departed Nuvema Town and was ready to conquer himself yet another Pokemon League.

* * *

Ash loved that there were very few people in Unova who knew who he was... trainers were accepting his challenges and losing their money. Ash loved that! He wasn't as easily recognized in another nation and he could lure countless idiots into a large wager. It gained him quite a lot of money and great experience for his Pokemon... So much so that all of his Pokemon were soon at level 35 or higher.

Between all those battles and weak Gym Leaders, Ash was breezing through Unova without complaint or regret. The battles were all pathetically easy, but Ash was still learning from it and he was dissecting his opponents strategies and in some cases countering them before they could occur... a talent that he always had, but he was actively focused on improving it.

Ash was still disgusted by the weak Gym Leaders... not one of them had a Pokemon over level 50. Ash was glad that he had no desire to defeat this leagues Elite Four and Champion... this region was barely worth his time. Ash had managed to raise his Pokemon up to level 85 before even facing Drayden and that was largely due to having so many ignorant opponents.

His Axew was now a Haxorus, his Deino was now a Hydreigon, and his Litwick was now a Chandelure.

Ash had also been training his Hoenn and Sinnoh Pokemon.

As for Zekrom, he had made great progress. He was now level 90 and had learned Rain Dance, Roost, Light Screen, Protect, Giga Impact, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Pulse.

With six months left until the Unova League, Ash began training.

The first thing Ash did was train all of his Unova Pokemon up to level 120, which took him two months.

Unfortunately, Team Plasma had learned of him catching Zekrom and had located him.

"Repeat what you just said," Ash said coldly.

"Give us all of your Pokemon!" Ghetsis demanded once more, unconcerned about any attempts by Ash to attack them. Ash was outnumbered and he was facing an army of Pokemon. Not even the Zekrom he had caught could save him!

Ash restrained the Plasma Grunts and other leaders, stripped them of their Poke Balls and returned their Pokemon, and then burned them all alive. Ash was indifferent about their suffering, but he would have to bring back their shades and then dismantle the entire Team Plasma organization with their knowledge.

**Two days later...**

Thankfully slaughtering the evil pricks who wanted to disarm the people of Unova and then conquer them didn't didn't take very long. Truthfully, it would been way more fun if it had taken longer, but Ghetsis had most of the information that Ash needed to wipe out the organization. It was actually kind of boring though... easily brutally murdering people gets repetitive. Oh I'm gonna blast this person apart! And then this one! Oh, I'll burn this one! And these other five too! See? Boring!

Ash now had plenty of additional Pokemon to give away, but he would be keeping quite a few for himself. With Ghetsis having a level 66 Hydreigon, Cofragrigus, Bisharp, and a Bouffalant needing a new trainer, Ash began looking... After having no luck, Ash contacted Lance...

"Hello, Ash," Lance said.

"Hey, Lance. I recently captured an abandoned level 66 Hydreigon and I was wondering if you would see if Clair wanted it. I also have a level 65 one that was attacking Pokemon and knocked out power in Undella Town during a fight with a Dragonite.

"If you send the level 66 Hydreigon to me then I will pass it onto Clair. She's been looking to build up her collection of Dragons." Lance replied.

"I'll do that," Ash replied. "There are also two Deino, level 45... if you think that she would be interested in them. They're a breeding pair."

"Sure. Send them too. If not, then they can always live in the Dragon Holy Land." Lance replied.

After saying their goodbyes, the call was ended and Ash quickly sent the three Dragon-type Pokemon to Lance.

With Team Plasma, a threat to Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem neutralized, Ash decided to free the now better trained Zekrom... though Ash would greatly miss him, Ash gave Zekrom his word to release him and he intended to keep his promise.

As a reward, Death gave Ash alternate universe versions of Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem.

One more notable thing had happened though... Ash decided to challenge the Unova Elite Four and Alder, the Champion, if he won the Vertress Conference... He would obviously abdicate if he won, but he needed the challenge, experience, money, and the Unova Region wasn't a part of his plans. If he managed then he would win three million Poke dollars for beating the Unova Elite Four and Champion and possibly even a few advertisements and book offers. Battles were getting boring and the best way to spice things up was by battling the five best trainers in Unova. Ash was also doing this because of Alder's mockery in pretending to not remember his name and due to Trip's xenophobic idiocy.

Ash was going to humiliate Alder; Trip's hero _and _take Alder's title, and if possible Ash would also deal Trip a humiliating defeat too. The title would be thrown away like trash afterwards though. Unova had some of the worst trainers Ash that had ever seen and he refused to sully himself by binding himself to Unova long-term.

The Vertress Conference began in a mere week. It was with a sigh, with Ash mourning that his time in Unova wasn't more interesting, that he left for Vertress City.


	19. Chapter 19

**Announcement: There are two chapters being uploaded due to the shortness of chapter 18. Both 18 and 19 are new chapters.**

* * *

Upon arriving at Vertress City, Ash wasted no time in registering early and getting himself a hotel room... after that it was just him exercising his Pokemon, some mild shopping, and generally being a tourist. Ash had even managed to help some idiot named Cameron who didn't know that he had to register before the conference.

Iris, a wannabe Dragon Master, and Cilan, one of the Striaton City Gym Leaders, both arrived at Vertress City days later. Ash was amused when Iris was knocked into a fountain by a running Bianca and he just couldn't remain silent.

"And Bianca uses Take Down on poor Iris... it was super effective..." Ash said, revealing his presence to the annoying and irritating girl. Iris insulted others and belittled them, even for small lapses and mistakes, due to her own failure to become a Dragon Master and the need to cut people down to her level. Ash didn't hesitate to share his opinion of her with her before leaving her behind.

"Shut up, Ash!" Iris said in annoyance, already climbing out of the fountain.

"And deprive the world of my lovely voice?" Ash asked with a mocking smirk.

"Your annoying voice!" Iris replied angrily.

"That's just the opinion of one failure," Ash said dismissively.

"Why do you dislike Iris?" Bianca asked.

"She insults others out of a deep seated self-loathing for her failure to make any real progress towards her own goal becoming a Dragon Master. I ditched her pretty quickly for being mental poison." Ash replied. "She's also jealous of me for being an actual Dragon Master."

Iris just walked away angrily, but Ash didn't care. Iris was nothing to him... she was nothing period, she still only had one Dragon-type.

**The next day...**

It was time for the opening ceremonies and Ash was eager to start battling...

"You look excited," Cameron said in observation.

"Yeah. If I win this conference then I'm going to challenge the Elite Four and Alder... if I beat all five then I'll earn myself three million Poke dollars."

"Well, I'm gonna win this one!" Cameron replied, but Ash rolled his eyes. Cameron was no threat to Ash's goals.

Finally, the action seemed to have started... with a man jumping out of a helicopter. Thankfully he had a parachute and safely landed.

"Greetings! Freddy the Scoop is here and ready to roll, and so it's my great honor to welcome you all to the Unova League! Now, if everyone will please turn your attention to the flame cauldron, Vertress City's very own Officer Jenny will light the Unova League flame!"

"Alright, before the main battles we will hold our qualifying rounds. Only those trainers who win will advance to the main event! Each trainer is allowed one Pokemon in our preliminaries... now, up on the screen our qualifying match-ups."

And so began the preliminary rounds...

Ash easily advanced to the qualifying rounds by having his Chandelure two-hit Trip's Serperior... Trip was given a mocking smile and snarky comment immediately afterward.

"Better luck next time, amateur. Maybe you should go back to the basics." Ash said before walking away.

Ash steamrolled his next opponents and he was soon in the Top 8, with Virgil, Dino, Cameron, Russet, Antonio, Ramone, and Katharine having also made it.

It was time for Ash's next battle, with Cameron who was confident due to his so-called secret weapon... a Hydreigon that _anyone_ could learn about by turning on a computer for conference competitors to study each other with. The command to send out their first Pokemon was just given.

"Go Hydreigon!" Cameron said confidently.

"Go Primarina!" Ash said.

Cameron started things off with a command to use Dragon Pulse, but Ash had Primarina take the hit and suffer no damage. Primarina used Moonblast, rapidly producing and unleashing the attack, and Hydreigon was quickly left unable to battle.

Ash was amused by Cameron's stupefied look. "Primarina is a Fairy and Water-type from the Alola Region, a region which has no gyms or a league," Ash explained.

"Go Ferrothorn!" Cameron said, using the information just given to him. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Ash had Primarina use Protect, add Light Screen for good measure, and then use Sing which was quickly followed up by repeated Moonblast's to defeat Ferrothorn.

"Ferrothorn is unable to battle! Cameron send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said.

Cameron chose Riolu as his next Pokemon and had it use Vacuum Wave, which was countered with Hyper Voice and then frozen with Ice Beam. Ash quickly had Riolu hit with Shadow Ball to defeat it.

"Riolu is unable to battle! Since Cameron has has had three Pokemon defeated we will take a short break." The referee said.

After a short break the battle continued, and Cameron's Samurott was quickly defeated by Energy Ball and his Swanna was defeated by Ice Beam. Ash was shocked when Cameron revealed that he only had five Pokemon with him and so was the referee.

"I thought trainers were only suppose to have five Pokemon!" Cameron said in embarrassment, provoking laughter from the audience.

"Trainers are supposed to have six of them," Ash explained, in mild annoyance. "Ref, can he go get his sixth Pokemon?"

"Sorry, but no," The referee replied in annoyance. "Cameron only brought five Pokemon to the battle and he has therefore lost by having his final Pokemon defeated!" The referee announced.

Ash just sighed and walked away. He wouldn't have wasted his time on making sure that Cameron was registered if he knew that Cameron was just going to squander his chance out of pure stupidity.

* * *

After easily defeating Ramone in the Top 4, it was soon time for Ash and Virgil to battle for the conference championship... Virgil was a talented trainer, but he was certainly no prodigy and he lacked a similar level of skill and battle experience and Ash was in no mood to play around... Ash dominated him and easily won his fifth championship.

"And our winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The announcer said as cheers broke out. "This is Ash's fifth championship win! Not only that, but Ash has also just matched his own previous accomplishments at the Silver, Ever Grande, and Lily of the Valley Conference and none of his Pokemon have fainted during the entire Vertress Conference! This is Ash's fifth league win in a row and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has become the first in history to achieve this, and has added to his world record..."

"Ash has just set two more national records... No Pokemon fainted during the Vertress Conference. A national record. No Pokemon fainted during three League Conferences... a national _and _world record. Here comes the Champion Alder to present Ketchum with his trophy!"

"Congratulations, Aaron!" Alder said, annoying Ash. "I present you with your trophy; proof of your victory, and one million Poke dollars will be transferred into your account. Your winning the Vertress Conference grants you the right to challenge Unova's Elite Four and myself at any time you desire, and you will bear the title Champion of the Vertress Conference until next year."

"Thanks..." Ash replied. "I'll be seeing you soon though. I'm challenging the Unova Champion League and I'll be taking that title off your hands... at least until I get bored."

"I look forward to battling you then!" Alder replied, before walking away.

* * *

Ash wasted no time in announcing his intention to challenge the Elite Four and Alder... Cameron, Bianca, and Stephan all stuck around to watch and were actually allowed to be closer to the action.

Ash's Bronzong just nearly managed to single-handedly sweep Marshal's entire team, much to Cameron, Bianca, Stephan, and the audiences shared awe. Gardevoir finished up the battle without fainting.

Grimsley required Blaziken to beat, but he was soon defeated too.

With Ash having defeated two out of four of the Elite Four, he was allowed to take a break and swap out his Pokemon. The next opponent would be Caitlin, the Psychic-type specialist of the Elite Four.

"You could really win this, Ash!" Cameron said in awe.

"Well, yeah," Ash replied. "That's the goal. Besides, I do need the three million for my plans and the Unova League has no part in them. I needed this challenge badly. Competition is getting pretty boring since I'm a prodigy, but I'll probably quit traveling after the next league and settle down and begin working on my true plans."

Cameron, Bianca, and Stephan just nodded. They just wished that Ash wouldn't throw away a champion title... They all thought that Ash would make a way cooler champion than Alder.

"This battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Caitlin of the Elite Four will now begin!" The referee said.

"Trainers please send out your first Pokemon!"

"Go Metagross!" Caitlin said.

"Go Chandelure!" Ash said. When the referee gave the word, the battle began. Metagross tried using Psychic, but was targeted by Imprison, stripping it of several moves. It was followed up with Flamethrower and then Hex...

"Metagross is unable to battle! Caitlin, please send out your next Pokemon!"

Since Chandelure cannot learn Hypnosis and was unlikely to know Dream Eater due to not being able to perform the entire move combo, Caitlin sent out Musharna and ordered it to use Hypnosis... to surprisingly no effect. It was quickly hit with Imprison, Will-O-Wisp, Hex, Night Shade, and then was defeated with Flamethrower.

Caitlin was beginning to realize Ash's brilliance... Pokemon can learn many moves, but they require more training to remember them all, and Ash had trained Chandelure to down grade Psychic-types so that they could be defeated far more easily and all while knowing several moves detrimental to Chandelure and using Imprison to counter them. Chandelure was even trained to avoid sleep! Caitlin was very impressed, but her Gothitelle would still defeat Ash's Chandelure.

"Go Gothitelle! Use Thunderbolt!"

Ash had Chandelure dodge and use Imprison once more before using Fire Spin on Gothitelle... it was then that Caitlin realized she couldn't free Gothitelle with Psychic and was forced to use Thunderbolt for that, but was hit by Will-O-Wisp and Hex in the mean time. Caitlin had her Gothitelle dodge the incoming Shadow Ball and use Thunderbolt again, but it was redirected with Psychic and Gothitelle was forced to dodge her own attack... and while that was happening Gothitelle was hit by Night Shade, defeating her.

Caitlin requested her optional break to strategize.

"They can request breaks?" Bianca asked in confusion.

"Yes. Instead of the standard break after having three Pokemon defeated, it is instead optional. I get one too... if I want." Ash paused. "Caitlin likely believes that my Pokemon are all under level 70, but they're all at level 100 or higher... my win should be secure, but her Reuniclus and its Magic Guard ability will require brute force, as will her Sigilyph and its Wonder Skin ability. I'll use my extremely powerful Gengar for those two."

"I-i didn't know you were this good, Ash," Stephan said in shock.

"I'm a prodigy," Ash replied. "I'm best at battling, training, evolving, and trading Pokemon. It's boring though. Battles get less challenging as you rapidly progress to greater skill levels."

When the battle restarted, Ash sent out his Gengar and Caitlin her Reuniclus. A quick Shadow Punch and it was beaten, much to the shock of most of the viewers. Sigilyph got the same treatment and not even her Gallade could withstand Gengar's might. It also helped that Gengar was level 165.

"The winner of this battle is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

The battle with Shauntal went great... for Ash. Ash used his Chandelure's Imprison to deprive Shauntal's Chandelure, Cofagrigus, Driftblim, and Banette of their strongest moves and then defeat them. Her Golurk and Froslass were dealt with by Gengar. Shauntal still managed to defeat Chandelure though, by wearing her down.

"Ash Ketchum has just defeated the Unova Elite Four!" The announcer exclaimed. "The Champion Alder will be battling Ash as soon as Ash's Pokemon are cleared for battle by Nurse Joy."

**Line break-remove text and replace.**

**Three days later...**

"This battle for the Unova League Champion title will now begin!" The announcer said, uttering those fateful words. "Champion and challenger, send out your first Pokemon!"

"Go Bouffalant!"

"Go Blaziken!"

"Battle begin!" The referee said.

Alder started the battle off with Stone Edge, which Ash let hit and had Blaziken use Counter, but Ash wasn't done yet.

"Brick Break!" Ash ordered. Blaziken was a blur as he sped over to Bouffalant and used Brick Break right on its skull, blasting Bouffalant into a wall and unable to battle.

"Bouffalant is unable to battle! Champion Alder send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Druddigon!" Alder said.

Ash returned Blaziken and sent out Lapras.

Surprisingly Alder didn't substitute and Ash ordered a Perish Song, suspecting a strategy from Alder and wanting to be incredibly thorough. Lapras used Sing, putting Druddigon to sleep and then used Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and to finish it, yet another Ice Beam.

"Druddigon is unable to battle! Champion Alder send out your next Pokemon!"

"Go Accelgor! Use Energy Ball!"

"Protect!" Lapras succeeded in defending against the Energy Ball, and then used Perish Song and followed it up with Sing.

"Accelgor, return!"

"Lapras return," Ash replied and sent Blaziken back out, baiting Alder into what he would believe to be a battle of attrition.

"Go Volcarona!" Alder said, causing Ash's lips to briefly upturn.

"Stone Edge!" Ash ordered, to Alder's shock. Blaziken used Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and to finish it all off, Ash had Blaziken use Brave Bird.

"Volcarona is unable to battle! Champion Alder send out your next Pokemon!"

Ash smirked at Alder, knowing that he was going to defeat the old man. Alder knew it too, that Ketchum kid was extremely skilled and had trained all of his Pokemon _very _well. If Alder was going to continue battling Ketchum then he would have to use his Excavalier and his Aerial Ace.

With that in mind, Alder sent out his Excavalier and wasted no time in having it use Aerial Ace on Blaziken.

"Counter!" Ash psychically ordered and Excavalier fell into the trap, taking twice the damage that it dealt... "Now, Blast Burn!"

"Excavalier is unable to battle! Champion Alder send out your next Pokemon!"

Alder sent Accelgor back out and had it use Focus Blast, which Blaziken dodged and then used Flare Blitz to defeat Accelgor, shocking Alder and the audience even further.

"Accelgor is unable to battle! Champion Alder send out your final Pokemon!"

Alder sent out his Vanilluxe, hoping to at least defeat Ketchum's Blaziken, and Ash knew the Pokemon's move set quite well... Mirror Coat was one of them. There were very few moves that Blaziken could use to avoid that, but Flare Blitz was one of them.

"Flare Blitz!" Ash ordered, and with Blaziken's superior speed and power, Vanilluxe was unable to dodge in time.

"Fire Punch!" Ash ordered, and Blaziken punched Vanilluxe into the ground... unable to battle.

"Ash Ketchum is the winner of this battle and the new Unova League Champion!" The announcer said. Alder returned his defeated Pokemon and walked over to congratulate Ash.

"Congratulations, Aiden!" Alder said, causing Ash's eye to twitch. "If you'll follow me, I'll induct you into the Unova Hall of Fame and arrange for your prize money to be transferred... Well, there is a technician who will actually do that. People think that I have memory problems, but it's not my fault that their parents didn't name them correctly."

"You're funny person, Alder," Ash said drily. "Hold onto that, it's all that you have left since you're no longer a champion and now that your looks have faded." Alder glared, but led Ash to the Unova Hall of Fame and the technician quickly registered Ash.

**Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Kanto Region. Five time Champion, five-time national record holder, a holder of two world records, and a Dragon Master. Defeated Alder with none of his Pokemon fainting. Pokemon team: Charizard, Blaziken, Pikachu, Gengar, Gyarados, and Froslass.**

After calling out his Pokemon and having their picture taken, Ash was informed that the three million Poke dollars had been transferred into his account.

Ash later abdicated, appointing Marshal purely based upon his willingness to strengthen the Unova League from the top down and create training programs and mentorships to better the competition as a while. Ash had only been champion for a mere week.

* * *

Ash briefly returned home to Kanto to plan out his trip through the Kalos region and acquire the Pokemon that he intended to train... Ash had a Chespin, Fennekin, Honedge, and a Tyrunt from a fossil, but couldn't find himself a Froakie.

After rapidly training them up to level 25, Ash left again, this time for the Kalos region.


	20. Chapter 20

**Review Responses:**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yeah, I'm not a fan of Unova and I'm projecting that disdain into my story, but I think I'm doing it well. Glad you like the story.

**John50: **Yes, Ash gained the same Froakie an in canon/the anime. No, Ash doesn't know Serena in this story. Yes, they met when they were younger, but Ash wouldn't ever form a bond with her. You'll find out soon enough. I update everyday, lol.

**Dylan-A-Friend:** Thanks.

**Lezaroth:** The familiar bond from Chapter nine augmented the Pokemon in power and physical ability. They have some magic within them enhancing them... I took the familiar concept and adapted it to create a pseudo Battle Bond; they gain the power, far more limited communication, and a permanent power-up. In short his familiar Pokemon can match Mega Evolved Pokemon without drawing upon the same power. Ash creating a region would cause natural disasters as its created and kill millions. Ash achieved national; Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh Pokedex completion. Could he do more? Yes, but I dislike unfinished work.

I never planned to deal with Genesect or Mega Mewtwo, but Ash's Mewtwo could theoretically Mega Evolve too. I had some ideas for Yveltal but never got a chance too develop them and will hold onto the idea until I can. I'm not a fan of Alain or Lysandre.

**The reaper of death445:** Don't worry, the stories pre-written and only needs to be uploaded. I do have some other ideas for stories similar to this one. I'll be adding the final chapter, twenty-one, to my FFnet account in a few minutes after saving this. I noticed some reviews and wanted too get a head start on replies because one was lengthy and contained important information; the reply to Lezaroth's review specifically.

**Spectrer:** That question will be answered in this chapter.

**buterflypuss:** Thanks.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks. I'm glad you like the story.

**Guest:** I'm glad.

* * *

When Ash arrived in Kalos, he wasted no time in visiting Professor Sycamore to have his Pokedex updated, and after that he captured himself a Froakie and began traveling, training for his first gym battle, and battling trainers. Ash's Froakie, Quilladin, Braixen, Honedge, and Tyrunt were all proving themselves hard working and worthy. Getting the new capture Froakie too level 25 and evolving him was easy, but they were all still low level and would require much more work.

Defeating Viola and winning the Bug Badge was pretty easy, and Ash continued his travels and training... Ash saved a village plagued by a sleeping and loudly snoring Snorlax and caught a shiny Magikarp near Ambrette Town. Ash had always wanted another shiny Gyarados and now he finally had a Pokemon that could evolve into one.

After training all of his Pokemon up to level 35, and with Honedge evolving into Doublade, Ash challenged Grant, the Cyllage City Gym Leader and defeated him using just Frogadier and Quilladin.

It was after leveling all of his Pokemon up to level forty and winning the Rumble Badge off Korrina that Ash caught another Pokemon... An amateur trainer was traveling around and he was attempting to train... they accidentally attacked a Salamence that was flying by. Truthfully, they didn't even make the tiniest scratch, but Salamence are easily angered. Ash sent his Charizard and Salamence didn't last long against him... a Dragon Pulse and Dragon Rush, followed up by Dragon Claw and Ash quickly caught the Salamence. The problem was that Ash already had an extremely powerful Salamence and needed to give it away.

Thankfully Max was powerful, knowledgeable, and he was skilled enough to handle it now.

Winning the remaining badges while keeping his Pokemon at higher levels for battles was thankfully easy for Ash... he was used to it by now. Stronger Pokemon meant more wins, and more wins meant far more experience and therefore levels... Plus Ash was a prodigy. With his eight badges won, Ash began training for his intended final league conference.

Ash would later take a break to save a Zygarde cell at Fate and Death's request... All Team Flare members were slain and all of their Pokemon were released, kept, or given away, and Ash had even saved a lot of peoples lives in the process. Ash was also given a gift by Fate and Death as thanks, they said it would be helpful in the near future.

Ash had to intervene, yet again, at Terminus Cave and warded the location against hostile humans... unfortunately Ash still hadn't earned Zygarde's trust.

But, no, it was the third time that enraged Ash. He was sent to stop Team Flare from capturing Zygarde... again.

It went well at first, if you count brutally murdering would-be mass murderers as a positive experience, and Ash was soon struggling to keep his footing on the blood soaked ground... hundreds of Team Flare Grunts were slaughtered and Ash had even captured the vile and twisted Xerosic.

Ash, in his alter ego, was merely torturing the abomination to death, having looked into his mind and having learned that he didn't care who he hurt... Ash was using his 'magical powers' to cause Xerosic to feel all the pain that he had ever caused... okay, he was using the Cruciatus Curse, but Ash was certain that more than a few people bought that lie. Xerosic had just died when Ash, in his disguise, was hit by a Flamethrower...

Ash easily recognized the Charizard's trainer, Alain, Lysandre's pawn and servant.

"Ah, Lysandre's little pawn..." Ash greeted, his voice distorted, and causing Alain's eyes to widen. "You wish to capture Zygarde so that your master can help Mairin's Chespin and so that she will smile again..." Alain looked shocked. "You could succeed... but will she smile as Lysandre kills her along with you and everyone else? He plans to reduce the worlds population too preserve the world for longer... so much death... all because of a mad man and a naive little pawn... you."

"Would you like to know what happened to poor little Chespie?!" Ash asked and Alain nodded yes, while thinking of how to defeat his opponent. "It saved a Zygarde cell, which escaped due to Chespie's kindness... Chespie was infected due to your masters actions... Lysandre is the reason why Mairin no longer smiles." Alain looked shocked, but doubtful.

Zygarde sharing that helped greatly. That, combined with interrogating the shades of slain Team Flare members, had given Ash all the information that he needed. Ash summoned the shades of the slain Team Flare admins and had them all confess.

"Return to Lysandre and inform him that he and Team Flare shall pay for their crimes with their lives... I'm coming for them... I cannot die, I cannot be negotiated with, bribed, or feel mercy, and I won't stop until they are all dead."

"Charizard! Blast Burn!" Alain ordered, fearing that Mairin would be caught in the crossfire.

Ash calmly took the attack, suffering no injury from it.

"Be glad that my body was unharmed... my spirit would have taken the nearest available body had it been. We wear similar colors but your body is too scrawny for my tastes. I prefer my own decaying body." Ash calmly blasted Charizard into a rock with his psychic powers. "I'm neither human nor mortal Alain. I'm held together by the power of Legendary Pokemon and I'm being punished for my own crimes... Your little friend is safe. I'm forbidden from harming another innocent... otherwise I would take her apart piece by piece before your eyes as punishment for attacking me." Okay, that last part was a complete lie. Ash was just messing with Alain's head and he would never harm such a sweet child.

Alain returned his Charizard and accepted his chance to escape.

* * *

Ash had begun buying up Lysandre's properties and his companies while destroying Team Flare bases, reducing the negative energy from their actions, and both were going very well. Lysandre was the trusting humanitarian sort... in public, anyway, and Ash had been persuading his shareholders to sale to him... most finding Lysandre mentally unstable helped greatly. Lysandre didn't even own a clear majority of his own company, but Ash did now.

Team Flare was on its last leg and Ash had silently bought up a 52% share of Lysandre Labs too stabilize the economy of Kalos after Lysandre's fall. With Lysandre Labs being a major company, their leaders death and destruction of company assets would halt production, cost people jobs, and hinder Kalos' ability to export products. That was something that Ash wanted to avoid, most of Kalos was innocent in this war.

As Ash slew another Team Flare Grunt, destroying his body, he arrived where Mairin and her Chespin were and entered the room, finding Mairin waiting fearfully with her still comatose Chespie.

"Hello, Mairin. I've heard of what happened to your Chespin and the Pokemon that it helped has returned to help, but I need you too wait just a little while longer and let me get you to safety." Mairin looked hopeful, but she was still scared. "Chespie has the energy of a legendary Pokemon named Zygarde within it and only Zygarde can remove it, but Team Flare and Lysandre are trying to capture it and use it to kill billions..."

"Alain said that he was trying to save Chespie," Mairin said.

"Lysandre manipulated him... Where is he by the way?"

"Lysandre said that he's still searching," Mairin replied, much to Ash's concern.

Alain wasn't dead, his shade wasn't appearing when summoned, so Ash suspected that Alain was imprisoned somewhere.

"I'll find him, but I need to get you to safety... I won't ask you to trust me, but this is the only way." Ash said before opening a portal and gently sending both Mairin and Chespie through it. Mew would catch and babysit them both.

Ash continued the slaughter of Team Flare, burning, tearing, impaling, and flat-out obliterating his enemies.

Ash was soon faced with Lysandre himself and Lysandre predictably sent out his Pokemon and had them attack, but they were redirected and his Pyroar and Gyarados were quickly stunned and Lysandre was telekinetically flung into a wall. Ash tore through Lysandre's mind and learned of Alain's location, and after that, Ash just killed Lysandre with the Killing Curse... He was mentally unstable and too dangerous to be left alive. After returning and then pocketing Lysandre's Pokemon, Ash began searching for Alain... which wasn't hard with magic.

"I take it that you confronted Lysandre?" Ash asked after locating Alain... Alain was locked inside of a cell without his Poke Balls.

"Yes... he gloated when he was found out and his security prevented me from sending out my Pokemon." Alain replied. "He's planning to kill billions and he has to be stopped!"

"He's already dead and Mairin and Chespie are both safe... Zygarde shall soon help Chespie," Ash replied, before summoning Alain's Poke Balls to him and casually ripping the cell door off. Ash handed Alain his Poke Balls and then led him outside the compound...

Once they were outside, Ash demolished the base with his magic... further intimidating Alain. With that done, Ash teleported them both to the villa Ash had rented under an alias as a safe house.

Upon arriving arriving, Ash let both himself and Alain inside.

"Alain!" Mairin called out excitedly, hugging him.

"Mairin, are you okay?" Alain asked, checking her over for injuries.

"I'm fine," Mairin replied. "Mew kept me company! She said that Zygarde would heal Chespie!"

"Indeed he will," Ash agreed as one of Zygarde's cells revealed itself and hopped over to Chespie... it was surprisingly anti-climatic. Zygarde touched Chespie, Chespie had Zygarde's energy removed from it and it began waking up. It was very touching and rewarding to see the two reunited though, and Ash had to use his Occlumency to avoid crying.

"What will you do next?" Alain asked.

"If I'm needed too purge evil from the world then I will continue in agony in a state between life and death..." Ash replied.

"What did you do, anyway?" Alain asked, wondering what could be so horrible.

"I tried enslaving the Legendaries and ruling the world while building an army too enforce my rule... for my actions I must defeat those who seek to do what I did, albeit they all do so far less skillfully."

With Ash still having months until the Lumiose Conference he was back to training soon after Mairin and Alain had left.

* * *

As a reward for his work, Ash was given a Yveltal, Zygarde, and a Volcanion from an alternate universe that was recently destroyed. The other Pokemon were sent to the other universes, with some coming here too supplement the declining populations or too create new populations where Pokemon were less common.

Unfortunately, Ash's ownership of Lysandre Labs was now public after Lysandre's death and now Ash was forced too play nice and reveal some designs of his own for maximizing the benefit of the planets space and resources and building spaceships for colonization efforts while devoting significant effort too focusing on the here and now and better life for everyone and keep stock values high for the other shareholders.

"Why not focus solely on one thing?" A reporter asked.

"While Lysandre was a madman Earth will eventually become overpopulated and colonies on other planets will divert population off-world and create more room for human expansion. Recycling resources with smart technology will reduce our pollution, waste, and preserve the planet for longer. The company will be making money while doing the right thing and making the world a better place." Ash replied.

"Mr. Ketchum, the worlds population is only four billion and that honestly isn't a major issue. Why give that minor issue any real focus?" Malva, an Elite Four and Reporter asked.

"Because it is a concern, albeit a long-term problem," Ash replied. "The eventual goal is too have ships that can transport a few thousand colonists. Our primary focus is on the here and now while preparing for that. Fifty years is my personal timeline, but that doesn't not reflect the views of Lysandre Labs. After a short time where new ideas can be developed, refined, or replaced shareholders can expect their stock prices too rise noticeably. I don't want any of you too think that myself or my company are obsessing over a minor issue, however. We are prioritizing the here and now while also preparing for the future, but will be developing ships as experiments, scout ships, and possibly begin very small colonies at most within twenty years."

"So portions of profits from current technology will be directed towards solving a future problem?"

"Yes," Ash replied simply.

"What about an extinction-level event?"

"Buy more Lysandre Labs products so that we can divert more money to shipbuilding and start establishing colonies," Ash replied jokingly. "We can't predict every such event and a virus could just as easily cause our extinction and the colonies would only spread it to ships and other planets. Having ships is no guarantee of humanities or the Pokemon's survival, but we are striving to maximize our odds without compromising the companies stability or obsessing over a long-term problem. The ships are useless if we can't afford too complete them or fuel them."

"That's not good enough, Mr. Ketchum," a reporter said.

"Then invest in Lysandre Labs space program or quit whining," Ash replied, offending the reporter and several others. "You see, Lysandre tried helping people at first but they kept demanding more charity. I'm not him. I won't throw a tantrum and try wiping out humanity or cave to pressure from useless idiots. If this schedule isn't fast enough then invest in Lysandre Labs space program and be part of the solution or quit whining and expecting others to do all the hard stuff."

Malva looked amused, pleased that Ketchum took a better approach than Lysandre did.

"You can't speak to people that way! It's rude!"

"So is acting like a spoiled brat and being a hypocrite, both of which most people have down to an art form," Ash quipped, causing some laughs. "Either step up and be part of the solution or be quiet instead of just complaining and demanding. Buying Lysandre Labs products is a form of support. Since this has devolved from a civilized conference I will end it here." Having said that, Ash walked away.


	21. Chapter 21

**Announcement: This is the final chapter and after the Lumiose Conference you'll all see what Ash's dream was.  
**

**Authors note added below review responses.**

**Review Responses:**

**Spectrer:** Yes, Ash will get Ash-Greninja.

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** I was trying too write them as self-centered, lazy, and entitled.

**Yaw6113:** Thanks.

**Guest:** I'm glad.

**John50:** And then you'll see. This is the last chapter. I couldn't make the story any longer while staying realistic. Ash is only a big deal in his home nation, and even then he's not very high profile. They won't know who he is unless they know him as a Professor or travel abroad a lot. Buying Lysandre Labs made him a household name in Kalos, but without that few would know who he was.

**Edit: Feb 15th, 2020: **

**After years of writing without asking for any money, I've finally hit my lowest point. I'm currently unemployed, can't find a new job, savings exhausted, and my mother was injured working as a nurse and was let go and I'm having to help her financially. I figured a small income from "Tippers" of 1$ or patrons would help while I continue selling off my old yugioh cards and looking for a job. This isn't solely to stir your sympathies, but to also explain that this is a last resort for me.**

**Please go to: p atre on. com (slash) Zane T69 (without the spaces, of course), if you're interested in contributing, even if its just the tipping option.**

* * *

The pre-party for the Lumiose Conference was somewhat interesting. Ash had managed to gather info on his possible future opponents and had confirmed that Alain was here and was likely the biggest threat to Ash's victory. Ash wasn't dismissing the others, but Alain was simply the biggest obstacle.

After this conference Ash would train for a year, challenge and defeat Arius, and build a family and love and actually be around for them, which meant that he would have too settle down for at least eleven years. Ash was gonna defeat Arius and become the Kanto Champion and further reinforce his Master rank. Ash was even considering winning the Johto championship off of Lance sometime.

And then there were Ash's secret plans... which he believed everyone would enjoy once revealed.

After an announcement from the lovely Diantha, the match-ups were announced and Ash would face Titus first.

Unfortunately Titus would prove unchallenging for Ash and he would be defeated with laughable ease. Astrid would soon prove just as disappointing for Ash, but he was looking forward to battling Sawyer.

The battle started and Sawyer sent out his Slaking and too everyone's surprise Ash sent out his Aegislash. They doubted his wisdom at first, but Ash quickly reminded them all why he was a five-time champion... Aegislash used Toxic, Attract, Destiny Bond, and then he barraged Slaking with Sacred Sword and Brick Break... poor Slaking never stood a chance.

"Slaking is unable to battle! Sawyer send out your next Pokemon!" The referee commanded.

"Go Salamence," Sawyer said.

Sawyer quickly ordered Salamence too use Incinerate, but Aegislash used Protect and then followed it up with Shadow Sneak and Head Smash, causing Salamence to crash into the ground.

"Salamence is unable to battle! Sawyer send out your next Pokemon!"

Next Sawyer chose Slurpuff despite its disadvantage and had it use Flamethrower, which was stopped with Aegislash's Protect and then Slurpuff was hit with Toxic and Iron Head.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle! Since Sawyer has had three Pokemon defeated there will be a short break."

Ash got a sip of water and returned Aegislash to rest.

When the battle restarted Sawyer chose Clawitzer and Ash chose Delphox, surprising everyone once again.

Sawyer ordered Water Pulse, Ash had it redirected with Psychic and had Clawitzer hit with Will-O-Wisp, restrained with Psychic and then defeated by a Solar Beam.

Sawyer was in a difficult position, Ash had calmly defeated his Pokemon and seemed to predict which Pokemon Sawyer would choose. Sawyer's chances of victory were almost non-existent now. Even worse, Ash Ketchum was either a Move Tutor, knew one, or had just bought a lot of TM's.

Sawyer was still somehow surprised when Ash's Delphox defeated his Mega Sceptile and his Aegislash and was only half listening as the referee proclaimed Ash the winner.

Ash simply left, already planning for his battle with Alain for the conference championship. It was quite sad that someone so overly reliant upon Mega Evolution was his biggest obstacle, but such power helped those less skilled compensate for lack of skill, knowledge, and experience. Alain needed to learn and be forced to develop greater levels of skill because his Charizard was an underdeveloped paper dragon; chubby, short, lots of experience and power, but no noteworthy physical conditioning to fully develop its potential. If Alain had trained it properly then it could be near equal to Ash's own.

* * *

Alain, a quite skilled trainer, was humiliated and was dealt a clear and decisive defeat. Alain was standing, looking down at his defeated Charizard in shock... His Metagross, Tyranitar, Unfezant, and Charizard were all defeated by the same Pokemon. Ash's Greninja. A Pokemon that had power far beyond Mega Evolution. Ash's Delphox quickly defeated Alain's Weavile and Bisharp.

And now Ketchum was coming over to him.

"Would you like to know why I didn't hold back as much and dealt you such a severe defeat?" Ash asked.

"Why?" Alain asked in dread.

"You believed that you were reaching the heights of your strength and would have slacked off if you weren't defeated. You still have a lot too learn and do before you even get close to your limit." Ash said and Alain nodded.

Meanwhile the announcer had recovered from shock and began talking...

"And our winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The announcer said as cheers broke out. "This is Ash's sixth championship win! Not only that, but Ash has also just matched his own previous accomplishments at the Silver, Ever Grande, Lily of the Valley, and Vertress Conferences and _none _of his Pokemon have fainted during the entire Lily of the Valley Conference! This is Ash's sixth league win in a row and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has become the first in history to achieve this, and has added to his world record..."

"Ash has just set two more national records... No Pokemon fainted during the Vertress Conference. A national record. No Pokemon fainted during four League Conferences... a national _and _world record. Here comes the Champion Diantha to present Ketchum with his trophy!"

"Congratulations, Ash," Diantha said with a smile. "I present you with your trophy; proof of your victory, and one million Poke dollars will be transferred into your account. Your winning the Lumiose Conference grants you the right to challenge Kalos' Elite Four and myself at any time you desire, and you will also bear the title Champion of the Lumiose Conference until next year."

"Thank you," Ash replied. "Don't worry, though. I have no intention of challenging you for your title. Kalos is too far from home for my tastes and I'm going too work towards my other dreams now."

And with that, Ash Ketchum left Kalos, and began training his Pokemon, constructing stadiums, recruiting trainers and selecting competitors for his next project, and also devising new gyms.

* * *

Ash defeated the Kanto Elite Four just after turning eighteen years old and Arius' death themed team was overwhelmed... Ash became Champion of Kanto and he quickly scheduled a meeting with Lance, Arius, Steven Stone, and Misty Waterflower.

"Please tell me you aren't scrapping nearly the entire Kanto Elite Four," Lance said in concern.

"No, this is for another project of mine. You four are all some of the best trainers around; champions and former champions, and Misty whose nearly at that level. I'm building something called the Crucible where the Elite Four will be champion-level; the best of them, and the Gym Leaders will all be Elite Four-level." Ash said and Arius, Misty, and Lance were all very interested.

"I'm not sure if I'm able too, Ash," Steven replied. "I'm actively looking for stones, ruins, and studying history most of the time."

"You'll still be able to do that. The placings of the Elite Four haven't been decided yet... it'll be weakest too strongest. You might be the third or fourth elite faced and it's unlikely that you'll have to battle much if you are." Ash said, convincing Steven to give it a shot.

"I'll try it for a year then," Steven said.

"Why are you the defacto champion though?" Misty asked.

"Girl, don't even think of battling him," Arius said in amusement. "No one else is questioning it. Ketchum is that powerful, none of us question his power, skill, or worthiness. He dominated me in our battle."

"Yeah. I don't need that question answered either." Lance added.

And so began the elite tournament... each member would battle and the strongest would be last.

Steven scraped a victory over Lance and Misty; having trained to beat Ash. Arius beat all three of them with only moderate difficulty; he reigned as champion for twenty years and had power and skill in spades. Lance beat Misty despite her exploiting his Dragon-types weakness to the Ice-type. Arius would be the fourth and final Elite Four, Steven would be third, Lance would be second, and Misty would be first.

It was the Gym Leaders that were difficult though...

Koga agreed to serve as the Poison-type Elite Gym Leader and he could also spend more time with his daughter Janine. Another gym was constructed close to Koga's former gym.

Bruno agreed to serve as the Fighting-type Elite Gym Leader.

Agatha agreed to serve as the Ghost-type Elite Gym Leader.

Drake and Sidney agreed to serve as the Dragon and Dark-type Elite Gym Leaders.

The other positions were filled with other Elite Four-level trainers, broadcasting arrangements were made, medical staff was recruited and hospitals were built, vendors were hired, and The Crucible was soon ready to be opened.

* * *

With The Crucible's opening imminent, Ash and his Elite Four had too invite trainers to participate and those trainers all had to be very strong and skilled. They also had to invite high profile guests to increase their exposure.

Those invited were May and Max Maple; May was just a famous guest, Sawyer, Alain, Tierno, Paul, Conway, Jon Dickson, Harrison, Virgil, Cameron, Wallace, Red, Blue Oak, Cynthia Shirona, Alder, Diantha, various regional professors, and many others, along with many reporters.

"Thank you all for coming," Ash began, after everyone silenced themselves for the opening announcement. "Welcome to The Crucible and for those of you who don't know a crucible is a trial or situation where forces interact and cause or influence change or development. A fitting name for this venture of mine. I sought to create the ultimate test for trainers who are all beyond the average level... The end result was an Elite Four with some of the strongest current and former champions around with a champion that can easily beat them in a battle."

The shock and awe was obvious on everyone's faces.

"Oh, I have your full attention now?" Ash asked teasingly. "As for the Gym Leaders, they have been tested and confirmed to be at the Elite Four-level with some being current or former Elite Four or candidates. But eight badges isn't enough to advance to the tournament... there are eighteen types of Pokemon. To advance you need to face a majority of those types, ten at minimum. If you win the Elite Conference then you will win two million Poke dollars... defeat the Elite Four and myself and you will win an additional three million and the champion title."

"The Crucible is designed to test those competing and push them to their absolute limits! You will compete against the best trainers around! You will suffer or deal out defeats that will force you to either grow stronger or wither away and die as trainer! But... win or lose you will have the honor of competing against the best there are and will grow in skill, wisdom, and knowledge." Ash said. "But the question remains... Who will stay and test themselves and who will flee in fear?"

No one left and Ash smiled.

"Good," Ash said, still smiling. "For those of you who don't recognize them, I will now introduce my Elite Four in the order that they are faced. First up is Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City... she currently holds a place on the Johto and Orre Elite Four in addition to her place on mine. Second up is Lance Wataru... he is currently the Johto Champion and a member of Kanto and Orre's Elite Four in addition to his place on mine. Third up is Steven Stone, former Hoenn region champion and my third Elite Four. Our fourth and final... the former reigning champion of the Kanto region for twenty long years, the Master of the Dark, the dread Arius!"

As they were introduced, each Elite Four stepped forward and received applause.

"Any questions?" Ash asked.

"Why was I invited?" Cynthia asked.

"Thought you might be interested in competing and if you weren't then I could always just flirt with you," Ash replied, causing some laughter and a smile from Cynthia.

"Was I invited for a similar reason?" Diantha asked, smiling.

"Yes, but it was mostly Steven that wanted to flirt with you. Congratulations, you have beauty, brains, and a great personality... it only took a few drinks to get Steven too say that." Ash said, teasing Steven who looked embarrassed. "Anymore questions?" None. "The Elite Tournament will begin in one year... prepare, train, and battle hard and perhaps you can give this speech next time."

Some stayed behind too socialize but most left to begin collecting badges.

Steven and Diantha talked, which Ash had hoped for, and Ash managed to schedule a date with Cynthia.

* * *

Few were surprised when Red himself won the Elite Tournament, having beaten all eighteen gyms. Blue was the runner-up with Max and Conway joining them in the Top 4. Ash was so proud of how far Max had come and it was a feeling that Max's family shared.

Ash was more pleased with how well his relationship with Cynthia was going and was even contemplating proposing to her.

But right now Ash had a battle to win... against his role model the legendary trainer Red.

"This battle between Ash Ketchum and the legendary Red for the title Elite Champion will now begin... an epic clash of Pokemon Masters in which only one can prove themselves the superior." The announcer said.

Red silently sent out his Charizard.

"Come on out, my friend," Ash said, sending out Gyarados... his first Pokemon.

Red started them off with an order to use Mega Punch, but Gyarados met it with an Aqua Tail as the force of the clash shook the stadium. Charizard got in a Mega Kick but Gyarados hit Charizard with a point blank Hydro Pump that sent Charizard flying into the stadium walls badly injured.

_It wasn't enough though,_ Ash mused.

Charizard used Flare Blitz and sent Gyarados flying into the wall.

"Thunder!" Ash ordered and Gyarados roared as Charizard was struck down by lightning pouring down from the heavens.

Red was shocked that his Charizard, which was level 170, was beaten so easily.

_This Ketchum kid is tough. I'll have to use type advantages._ Red thought, refusing to even consider losing.

Red sent out his Pikachu and had it use Thunderbolt, but Gyarados countered with Protect and used Roar too bring out Red's Blastoise and then defeat it with a single massive Thunder that lit up the entire stadium... Blastoise was left unable too battle, shocking the entire stadium and Red.

Red sent Pikachu back out and Ash decided that it was time...

"Gyarados! Mega Evolve!" Ash said and the Mega Stone, Key Stones, and Gyarados all glowed as Ash's Gyarados took on its final form.

Red's Pikachu still beat Ash's Gyarados decisively, only taking moderate damage from the higher leveled Gyarados.

Ash sent out his Charizard next and Red swapped Pikachu for Lapras.

Lapras used Thunderbolt, but Charizard was unaffected and used Giga Impact too send Lapras flying into a wall, but Lapras used Ice Beam on Charizard... Charizard used Flare Blitz to avoid being frozen and used Solar Beam in retaliation.

Lapras was barely able too fight and was quickly finished off with a Dragon Pulse.

"Red has lost three Pokemon," the referee said. "Trainer Red, would you like your optional break?"

Red replied by sending out his Snorlax and ordering it to use Toxic, which was quickly countered with a Flamethrower and ignited, bathing Snorlax in the burning fluid.

With Snorlax being able to take immense amounts of abuse, Ash had little choice but to Mega Evolve his Charizard and begin beating it into submission... Blast Burn, Giga Impact, Draco Meteor, Hyper Beam, and Solar Beam were all used to leave Snorlax unable to battle; horribly damaging the battlefield in the process.

Red's Pikachu was next and was narrowly defeated, but Ash returned Charizard and sent out his Tyranitar too fight Red's Venusaur.

Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability quickly gave Ash an early advantage... that and Stealth Rock, Stone Edge, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam allowed Ash to secure yet another victory over Red while only taking moderate damage from Venusaur's blind attacks. The damage was still severe enough that Ash opted to swap his Tyranitar for Gengar to face Red's final Pokemon: Espeon.

"It all comes down to this folks," the announcer said. "Ash Ketchum is on the verge of defeating a living legend and proving himself to be the strongest of the two Pokemon Masters."

Red looked annoyed by the announcer and so did Ash.

"Sorry, Red. The announcer is under contract and he's only trying too add drama and suspense." Ash stated in mild amusement.

Ash started them off with Destiny Bond for added insurance and Red ordered a Future Sight and Psychic, knowing that he had already lost. Worse still was that Psychic was Disabled by Gengar's Cursed Body and Gengar landed a Hypnosis attack which was quickly followed up by Toxic, Venoshock, Hex, Nightmare, and Dream Eater.

Espeon was defeated.

Ash had wanted to surpass Red for most of his life, Ash wanted to be the best, be wealthy and successful, and create The Crucible... Ash was only disappointed with the first. Ash had defeated and surpassed Red, but it wasn't everything that he hoped that it would be. Ash took his win in silence, shook Red's hand, and then went on with his life.

Ash and Cynthia would marry later that year and would conceive their first child shortly thereafter... Samuel Ketchum would be born nine months later and would be followed by a brother James Ketchum and his twin sisters Delia and Lily Ketchum. Each would grow up to become Elites and Champions like their parents.

As for Ash?

He was eternally youthful and reproduced the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life for Cynthia and their children, but eventually shegrew tired of living and outliving her friends; human and Pokemon... Cynthia left Ash and their family behind at the age of 300, still just as beautiful as the day Ash met her.

Ash was eventually defeated by his son James and left Kanto shortly after, his family no longer needing him, and Ash continued his travels and winning streak... eventually becoming known as the Undying Master and defending Earth for over a thousand years before remaining behind to evacuate a dying planet of all life.

But Ash wasn't reborn this time... he finally passed on and he was reunited with his loved ones; human and Pokemon, in the afterlife... and was even able to visit those from his first life too.

But even in death Ash was powerful... his magical power was so immense that it could sustain hundreds of Pokemon and from his magical power, having enveloped the Earth as he died, Earth would slowly recover as if by magic.

And so Ash Ketchum died and was remembered for eternity for his incomparable accomplishments and the energy that he left behind to heal Earth. Ash Ketchum, the best there ever was and the great hero... Earth would soon be restored and repopulated and Pallet Town and The Crucible would become memorials too Ash, the man who saved the world countless times and eventually provided the power for it to be reborn.


End file.
